LifeWork Imaging:

A Theoretical Proposition for

Putting Multiple Theories Into Practice

© 1993 Stephen D. Thompson, M.Ed. Michael D. Shannon, Ed.D. Kenneth G. Hamilton, M.D.

• Life Work Imaging (LWI) is a systematic and developmental approach to life/career development programming that utilizes a number of established paradigms. The LWI approach is intended to bring individuals to a state of inner harmony that promotes personal competence, a sense of worthiness and likeability, and recognition of empowerment. From a practitioner's point of view, Life Work Imaging establishes close and caring relationships among students, teachers, counselors, families, and the community that fosters collaboration and partnerships for guiding our youth to majority. The focus for the practitioner is acceptance of the professional responsibility to guide learners through appropriate imagery experiences that contribute to the four cornerstones of self-invention:

The Four Cornerstones of Self-Invention

• Self-Worth and Dignity: Essential to the LWI process is each individual's coming to an awareness and understanding of personal worth as a human. The instrumental belief that "I am somebody!" is as ennobling as it is enabling. And, it stands to reason that a person of worth carries herself or himself with a self-defined dignity and self-respect.

• Relationships: Humans are a gregarious lot, as such we have various types of relationships for many purposes and outcomes. Within the LWI framework the individual becomes increasingly more aware of his or her interdependence and the necessity of interdependent relationships.

• World View: Borrowing from some typology theory, individual's have an outer world which is the external linking with the personal environment as well as the greater universe. Each individual also has an inner world that is the true relationship to self.

• Self-Definition: The acceptance of self as a person, the relationships with others, and the integration of our inner and outer worlds contribute to one's own self-definition. Other factors contributing to this cornerstone of self-invention include competence and confidence, and an ever-developing knowledge base.

Background

• The genesis of this work was the need for understanding the many aspects of life and career planning and decision making within one comprehensive model. For practitioners, the many theories available in the literature provide meaningful insight into "pieces" of individual career development, but it appears that individual theories, while intensive, lack the extensity sought for a more comprehensive understanding.

• The task of the LWI development team has not really been to develop a new and separate theory but to integrate existing theory within a process-application model. During the past five years or so much intellectual, emotional, and physical effort has been expended in coming to a greater knowledge of our own beliefs as helpers in the career development process. Many students, clients, colleagues, family members, friends, and others have assisted us in our quest for self-understanding. Next, a concerted effort was made to gain an appreciation and working understanding of the major career and human development theories described over the past twenty-five years or so. And, energy was put not only into understanding the conceptualizations but, too, into understanding the utility of each in practice. Then, a serendipitous outcome of one very challenging life event led to the notion that self-imagery and identity is central to this entire process of life planning. Critical to this process known as career deciding is accurate self-knowledge as its relates to the imagery of career information.

• As a model for operationalizing various life and career development theories the Life work Imaging (LWI) model is viewed as directional, sequential, and composed of sets of developmental tasks and stages. Eight developmental stages have been postulated for the LWI model, each with various behaviors and processes of imaging. Like many of the theories of current usage, this model assumes that development is recursive and at any point in the developmental process the individual may return to an earlier stage of function.

• The processes by which an individual moves through the model incorporates both the task theorists' notions of differentiation and integration and the stage development ideas of assimilation and accommodation. While imaging is a highly intellectual process the imaging gathering, imaging making, and image recall activities which an individual undergoes can be explained through the processes of assimilation and accommodation. During movement through the stages, outlined below, the individual is developing reasoning structures through which he or she is making meaning of life through the storage of various images. Images that "fit" into existing reasoning structures are assimilated while the creation of new reasoning structures, accommodation, is necessary to retain the information and images for new learnings.

• Stage One: Images of Awareness (Birth to about age 10) The major role of the individual is that of observing/feeling (passive) participant. It is during this stage that the image library takes in the greatest amount of information. Sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and sensations are stored with accompanying images for future use.

• Stage Two: Images of Discovery (About age 8 through 16) As the growing person becomes mobile, she or her can begin to interact with the environment as a thinking (active) participant. Perhaps one characteristic that assists in defining this stage of the LWI process is that the individual can come to understand relationships between things and events, entering the Piagetian realm of abstract reasoning.

• Stage Three: Images of Exploration (Age 14 to formulation of a tentative life/career choice) The individual at this stage is beginning to employ personal choice in the exploration process. Super's and Ginzberg's notions of fantasy aids in understanding the developing person. At this point in life, the individual looks more closely at the life and work options that are found to be attractive without the necessity of realism.

• Stage Four: Images of Affirmation (Formulation of a tentative life/career choice through entering the world of work) Ginzberg's notions of industry aids in understanding the developing person. At this point in life, the individual is moving from fantasy and looks more closely at the life and work options based more on personal abilities and interests. Images of affirmation assist the individual in describing himself or herself in terms of "I am becoming a ..." rather than "When I grow up I want to be a ..."

• Stage Five: Images of Transition (Entrance to the world of work to establishing a life/career commitment) During this stage the individual has crystallized images of self as a member of the world of work that carries her or him through the times of transition. Partly the image is based upon a projection of self in future life and work roles. During this stage the images of self in the future are vivid enough to "carry" the individual through the transition.

• Stage Six: Images of Prosperity (Establishment of a life/work commitment to mid-career review) Advancement within life and work roles are the personal tasks of the individual at this point of life and work development. An image of self as doing better in the workplace and the community assists one in striving for self-improvement and prosperity.

• Stage Seven: Images of Contentment and Regret (Mid-career review to integration of a consistent sense of mattering) Once an individual has reached a life/career plateau there are images that contribute to a sense of contentment and others that contribute to regret. Hopefully the contentment's outweigh the regrets. For many persons with the wherewithal and resources a late life change in occupational focus may aid in overcoming the regrets. The general outcome of this stage is the individual has an image of self that leads to the belief that "I have mattered."

• Stage Eight: Images of Reflection (Integration of a consistent sense of mattering to death) In the years following retirement and the attainment of a sense of mattering the individual begins to share her or his experiences with others. Erikson's notion of generativity helps in explaining the behaviors of individuals at this stage. Emotional energy is given to reviewing the images of an entire lifetime with refinements, redefinitions, and reintegration.

• As individuals move through the early stages of LifeWork imaging, they must acquire life skills that are captured by the concepts of hope, possibility thinking, visioning, and work as “being in-service to others.” Through skillful application of these themes, individuals move through the developmental, yet at times, recursive stages of LifeWork imaging.

• Hope -- “that memory you hold for your future” Hope is the practical notion of “no matter how things turn out, they can make sense.” Hope is not pie in the sky. Hope is fundamental to the human spirit and the dignity of all human beings. The notion of hope preceded by “I” is often the action verb of visioning and personal aspirations.

• Possibility Thinking “Possibility Thinking” represents the frame through which we live our lives. The frame which combats the overriding limiter of human potential -- fear. Hope and possibility allows individuals to create pathways for their futures -- not to dwell in the problem, nor to be haunted by what may have been.

• When we view the world of images before us, we have a choice -- do we choose a frame that is hopeful or do we choose a frame that is fearful. Images can be visual, auditory, verbal, or kinesthetic. Furthermore, images are subject to interpretation, malleable, intimately related to belief systems, both individual and collective, and our reality. When considering our handling of images we must consider the following axioms:

• Reality is plastic; it responds to the images we create out of it.
• We draw upon libraries of images for all of our perceptions of reality.
• The adults of the community are the historical and traditional keepers of the image libraries for that community.
• They are, therefore, responsible to the youth of the community to expose them to images that will assist the youth in making their LifeWork choices.
• Abrogation of the responsibility for image-keeping leads to a fragmentation of society and a “Lord of the Flies” situation in the youth.
• History shows us that we do become what we thing about.
• What we would become is what we are becoming now.
• If we would change the probable outcome, then we must change the images we are working with in the present.
• Images can be changed; it is not easy.
• There are well-established methods of changing images.
• Every successful person knows the process for changing images. These skills can be taught and learned. --Ken Hamilton 1993

• The process of LifeWork Imaging is framed within the concepts of career development, career decision making, and possibility thinking. This brief essay is your introduction to a process you can apply to your life or to your work as a professional counselor or educator.