The 4 Stages of Human Evolution and Growth: From Learning to Legacy (2024)

There are four natural stages of evolution that human beings can go through in life — even though not all people do.Understanding these stages of life will provide you with a foundation upon which you can make wise decisions about how you invest your time, energy, and resources each day.

This article will take a closer look at the four evolutionary stages that humans can grow and mature through, and how they differ from one another. To make wise decisions today, it’s important to understand the potential costs and benefits they may have in the future. I heard a fascinating story recently that captures the ebb and flow of life’s seasons perfectly.

An old man had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge their life experiences too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at an old apple tree that was situated over five kilometres away.

He sent his first son in the winter, his second son in the spring, his third son in the summer, and his youngest son in the autumn. After all of them had gone and returned, he called them together to describe what they had seen. Each son saw something different.

According to the first son, the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted.

The second son disagreed, saying the plant was covered with green buds and full of promise.

A third son disagreed, stating that the tree was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.

In contrast to all the others, the last son said it was full of fruit and ripe with life and fulfilment.

The old man explained to his sons that they were all in fact correct, because they had each seen but one season in the apple tree’s life. Life is a series of seasons, and each season brings with it a different set of experiences. He then explained to his sons that they would be unwise to judge a tree, or a person, by only one season of their life, and that the essence of a life can only be measured at its end, when all of the four seasons are complete.

The process of transition and patterning that nature undergoes is one that we are able to observe in our natural environments. Likewise, we realize that nothing remains the same for very long, that nothing ever maintains its current state, identity or shape. All of nature cycles through seasons of change and transformation effortlessly and naturally — just as humans can go through four phases of psychological transformation throughout their lives.

It is natural for life to undergo transformation, which is one hugely influential factor that perpetually drives human evolution. In spite of its inevitable nature, transformation is more than manageable for those who understand it. Thus, our circ*mstances, needs, attitudes, and behaviors must evolve with these cycles of life, or we may undermine our sense of contentment and fulfillment during the process.

Your psychology and actions will naturally and effortlessly flow when you align them with the four seasons of life. You will then also know that each moment you experience is fleeting. Therefore, you should take advantage of every opportunity you have to make the most of it. In contrast, when people refuse to accept these natural seasons of life, they face a lifetime struggle and emotional turmoil as a result of trying to avoid the inevitable.

The seasons of life can be divided into four completely different stages;

# Stage 1. The Learning Years

In the early years of life, your brain is like a sponge, soaking up information and organizing it into patterns that you use to categorize and organize your experiences. As time passes, these patterns and models become more complex, incorporating relationships with others, past memories, and also future orientated expectations. For better or worse, children learn most from their family interactions. As a family member, you learn how to interact with others, how to perceive everything around you, and also how to relate to the world.

In early childhood, learning can be an enjoyable experience that helps people develop healthy habits for living a happy and fulfilling life. Other people, however, grow up in an environment filled with chaos without sense and rational thinking. Learning years can be challenging and stressful for those people. We must remember that learning doesn’t just happen during childhood. We have access to feedback, experiences, and people who can instruct us about how to live life in a meaningful or productive way.

Learning is essential if you want to gain new skills or knowledge. Initially, everything you learn is knowledge, but putting that knowledge to practice and developing competency is up to you. In order to monetize your expertise, you need to demonstrate enough proficiency in it for people to perceive it as valuable. A learning outcome of the most value is the ability to develop competencies other people will be glad to exchange their money for.

While knowledge is essential for learning, many people only invest into those who can take knowledge, adapt it, and apply it to specific situations to yield satisfactory results. To yield these results in other people’s lives, life coaches must possess a unique blend of knowledge, experiential understanding, and skill, qualities that can only be developed through practice. The learning years must be devoted to the development of skills through practice.

# Stage 2. The Earning Years

One day, a man wanted to give his best friend, an architect, a gift. He didn’t know what to buy his friend as he had everything he wanted. He came up with the idea to design and build him a house. So he cunningly asked his architect friend to design and build a house for him. His architect friend promptly started on the project. He chose all the best building materials, best safety factors, and the best tradesmen to turn his plan into a reality. When the house was complete, he thanked his architect friend, handed him the keys and said, “Enjoy your new home.” — An old Scottish Teaching

Eventually, every individual must prove their worth. You must work in order to survive. However, this should not be the ultimate purpose of your existence. The reason you learned to walk was not to walk for the sake of walking, but rather to reach a destination. In the end, walking served a higher purpose than simply being a goal in itself. In the same manner, earning must serve a goal greater than just gaining more money. It should always serve as an instrument to achieve your goals. During your earning years, you will generate income.

In today’s business environment, companies are smarter and more efficient, aware that the true cost of employees isn’t their salaries and benefits, but rather the output they generate and the amount of time it will take to mould an employee to fit their needs. This is the true cost of employees. It makes perfect sense to spend a premium on the right expertise for a specific project, because there will be no wasted time and energy.

A question you might benefit from answering is; Do you have the experiential knowledge that companies and individuals alike would invest substantial money in? In truth, you won’t get paid a high-level wage if you don’t possess a high-level skill set. A person who is already employed and hopes to be selected for the next promotion must consistently prove their worth, with capabilities an employer will value for many years to come. The key to entering the earning years is to deliver above and beyond what anyone else may expect from you.

Back in 2010, it wasn’t until I had published a series of self-awareness videos on YouTube that I began making money from my coaching business. One day, I was contacted by a wealthy individual who found value in what I had already shared online for free. My videos had struck a chord with him and he was already convinced that I should be his life coach. All that was left for us to discuss and agree upon were my life coaching fees.

Given that the client was very wealthy and was unlikely to waste his time with bog-standard services, I set my fees, knowing that he would pay a high rate for my services, accompanied with expectations that I would deliver upon my value propositions. To deliver value to this client, I had to be at my best at all times. As a result of the coaching I provided, he continued to pay for further sessions without money ever being a concern for him.

For people to enter the earning years, you need to offer them something they can’t get anywhere else. Books are bought if they provide the information people need, but individuals are only hired when they have a unique skill that can’t be purchased anywhere else. The more value you provide, the more money people will be willing to pay for your time and expertise. You will be paid based on the perceived value and quality of your work. Neither undercut nor oversell yourself. Be aware of what your service is worth, and price it accordingly.

If you are proactive about learning and earning, you will be paid according to the value you offer. Many coaches fail in business because they try to sell unquantifiable concepts such as happiness, abundance, and success. In general, people will only pay top coaching rates for quantified services that are geared toward reaching specific outcomes. Thus, if you want to earn money, develop expertise and make yourself thoroughly indispensable.

# Stage 3. The Legacy Years

Those who build a prosperous career and attain expert competence often endure a unique type of restlessness. Rather than focusing on fame, fortune, or amassing material possessions or emotionally abounding experiences, wise people ask themselves, “What am I leaving behind me?, Upon my death, what legacy will I leave behind?”

As a rule, a legacy is a wealth that is generated by one generation and passed on freely to the next. There is much more to leaving a legacy than passing on heirloom assets to the next generation. You leave a legacy by the decisions you make in your lifetime, and how those decisions impact the memories others have of you. Leaving a legacy allows people to ensure that their hard work and investments will benefit future generations.

Famous examples of people who left a lasting legacy include Alexander the Great, whose conquering spirit changed the face of the ancient world; Marie Curie, multi-Nobel Prize winner and pioneering physicist; and Nelson Mandela, an anti-apartheid revolutionary and South Africa’s first black president. Even if we cannot all leave such a great mark on the world, we can all strive to demonstrate these traits in our own personal lives and make sure our actions have positive consequences on those people who are closest to us.

As I mentioned previously, life coaching is not a business per se. It is simply a skill set and framework of ideas that can be used to positively influence people towards their life goals and aspirations. Understanding this gives you options. You can spend the next few years trying to build a life coaching business, OR, you can spend the next few years investing your knowledge, expertise and wisdom in a way that will benefit future generations.

You will decide your legacy by how you respond to this choice.

# Stage 4. The Golden Years

In the last years of your life, after you have accumulated sufficient earnings and set up a legacy, you enter the stage of life many have referred to as the golden years. At this point, you have gained a greater appreciation for life and started to slow down. Focusing on accomplishments is less important than savouring the remaining time you have left. Your experience remains beneficial to many others, and many will continue to seek your help.

These twilight years hold a certain serenity for those who approach them with reverence, as if they are taking the final step into life’s temple. Observing life from this vantage point means seeing it as a tapestry rather than a patchwork. Life has given you the gifts of experience, wisdom, and knowledge. Now you can enjoy the last blooms of life while imparting your sacred gifts to those youth who are humble enough to listen.

Now that you are comfortable where you are and don’t need to earn more money or leave a legacy beyond what you already have done, you have become ideal mentor material for a younger version of yourself. With your lifetime of experience, you can share the knowledge you have gained and offer people wise counsel, without needing to control the action steps that other people may or may not take. Once you have offered your guidance, you will comfortably go back to your quiet life without the urge to deliver any more.

For those seeking guidance about how to live life in a purposeful and progressive way, it’s wise to remember that understanding the stages of human evolution is key to becoming a mature-minded individual who does not shy away from taking responsibility for their own development and growth. By being aware of the different evolutionary stages we go through, it can provide us with a greater understanding of our own lives. This knowledge in turn can help us move forward with clarity and purpose towards achieving meaningful future goals.

In conclusion, these four stages of personal growth and evolution highlight the phases of development that humans go through over the course of their lives. Each stage is unique and its own way, and will shape us into the kind of human beings that people will remember with admiration. While there may be challenges and hardships along the way, each stage offers its own rewards and opportunities for growth.

As we continue to evolve and change, it is important to embrace each stage of life and find purpose in the journey. We each have the power to shape our destiny and create a legacy that will last for generations.

The concepts discussed in this article merely scratch the surface of the deep well of knowledge we can tap into. But remember, learning is not a solitary journey. The Achology peer-learning community delves deep into this topic, where every question sparks a conversation, every idea fuels learning, and every member contributes to our collective growth. May your learning sustain you for life.