Forms_Of_Mind_Tree_Rings.jpg
Forms_Of_Mind_Tree_Rings.jpg

Forms of Mind: Adult Development Model

US$5.00

Similar to the way a tree grows in distinct rings, people have the potential to grow over their lifetimes. But that growth is not a given. Adults don’t automatically grow and many do not. We need a certain set of factors to support our growth: considerable challenge, quality support that's up to the level of challenge, intrinsic desire or need (and perhaps, this next one is my current wondering, sufficient safety/connection to allow for growth).

Like a tree, we always have access to our earlier growth rings and without these we could not stand strong. As adults, at times, it’s useful to have the ability to choose to step into these earlier rings and view the world from there. For example, if you’re dealing with a difficult situation and with a person who seems to be seeing the world very differently, (e.g. perhaps they are focused on the “right” way, or keeping aligned with a power player), it can be a way of trying to better appreciate someone’s roadblocks and growth edges.

Why do we grow? To expand our capacity for seeing options and making choices, and to positively impact ourselves, our organisations, our communities. Especially in this increasingly complex and uncertain world.

When you're going on a journey it's really helpful to have a map. This illustration depicts part of one such map, and there are other, more detailed and bigger maps that offer navigational tools.

"Forms of Mind" is based on Kegan's Cognitive-Developmental Theory: Kegan, R. (1994). In Over Our Heads: The Mental Demands of Modern Life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Add To Cart

Similar to the way a tree grows in distinct rings, people have the potential to grow over their lifetimes. But that growth is not a given. Adults don’t automatically grow and many do not. We need a certain set of factors to support our growth: considerable challenge, quality support that's up to the level of challenge, intrinsic desire or need (and perhaps, this next one is my current wondering, sufficient safety/connection to allow for growth).

Like a tree, we always have access to our earlier growth rings and without these we could not stand strong. As adults, at times, it’s useful to have the ability to choose to step into these earlier rings and view the world from there. For example, if you’re dealing with a difficult situation and with a person who seems to be seeing the world very differently, (e.g. perhaps they are focused on the “right” way, or keeping aligned with a power player), it can be a way of trying to better appreciate someone’s roadblocks and growth edges.

Why do we grow? To expand our capacity for seeing options and making choices, and to positively impact ourselves, our organisations, our communities. Especially in this increasingly complex and uncertain world.

When you're going on a journey it's really helpful to have a map. This illustration depicts part of one such map, and there are other, more detailed and bigger maps that offer navigational tools.

"Forms of Mind" is based on Kegan's Cognitive-Developmental Theory: Kegan, R. (1994). In Over Our Heads: The Mental Demands of Modern Life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Similar to the way a tree grows in distinct rings, people have the potential to grow over their lifetimes. But that growth is not a given. Adults don’t automatically grow and many do not. We need a certain set of factors to support our growth: considerable challenge, quality support that's up to the level of challenge, intrinsic desire or need (and perhaps, this next one is my current wondering, sufficient safety/connection to allow for growth).

Like a tree, we always have access to our earlier growth rings and without these we could not stand strong. As adults, at times, it’s useful to have the ability to choose to step into these earlier rings and view the world from there. For example, if you’re dealing with a difficult situation and with a person who seems to be seeing the world very differently, (e.g. perhaps they are focused on the “right” way, or keeping aligned with a power player), it can be a way of trying to better appreciate someone’s roadblocks and growth edges.

Why do we grow? To expand our capacity for seeing options and making choices, and to positively impact ourselves, our organisations, our communities. Especially in this increasingly complex and uncertain world.

When you're going on a journey it's really helpful to have a map. This illustration depicts part of one such map, and there are other, more detailed and bigger maps that offer navigational tools.

"Forms of Mind" is based on Kegan's Cognitive-Developmental Theory: Kegan, R. (1994). In Over Our Heads: The Mental Demands of Modern Life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.