I should preface this article by saying I'm not a psychologist, but I'm decent at observing universal behavior among people. By now, I've interacted with people of all ages from several different backgrounds. I can be a bit slow, but eventually catch on to someone's character. The development of character takes time and there are often stumbling blocks along the way.

Early childhood environment

Character in early childhood is shaped by an individual's relationship to immediate family. Mother, father, siblings, and grandparents play a huge role during early childhood development. A troublesome environment at home could dash any hope of having a normal childhood. There's also a huge emphasis on learning and absorbing the natural environment. There are scores of papers written about this critical period, so I'm not going to spend much time here.

Young-adult character development

Young adulthood introduces development through peer groups. During teenage years, your identity is greatly shaped by your friends and the perception they have of you. One of the more isolating experiences you can have in young adulthood is to be shunned by a peer group. Family continues to play an important role, though wanting to be accepted among peers tends to start becoming equally important. Stumbling blocks here are a little easier to recover from, mostly because everyone encounters some kind or another. Additionally, the link with family by now has been more or less established so there's always another close-knit group to fall back on in case things with your peer group don't work out exactly as planned.

Early adulthood identity

Early adulthood, especially from attending a university onwards, shapes your identity through trying to find your own unique place in the world. This is what people normally associate with identity. Developing a strong identity at this stage is potentially a significant stumbling block, especially in today's world where everyone is expected to graduate with a Bachelor's Degree.

It involves striking a fine balance among three things:

1. What you are good at
2. What the world needs, and
3. What you are interested in doing as a career

Some people don't find it, and that's ok because the world gives most people enough time to find something that fulfills at least one of the above. This is also the point at which people's paths often diverge. Some people end up being really good at finding their place in the world, finding a life partner, and finding a career to call their own. Checking all of the boxes, meanwhile, is more difficult for others. It takes a fine balance of time, investment, and clarity of vision. Sometimes, life gets in the way of becoming an "adult" in the traditional sense. Then there are some paths that flow in and out, some paths that get ahead of others. Life gets more complicated here in finding your own place in the world.

Mid-career meaning

Supposing you do find yourself enjoying two out of the three characteristics above while going down a certain path, there's another point at which it's necessary to find your own place in the world and pass a sense of meaning on to someone who would listen. People often find themselves switching a promising career path to climb the corporate ladder. Other times, rather than climbing a ladder it feels more fulfilling to become a writer or a freelancer. For many people, this moment never comes. For many people, this search for meaning is fulfilled by passing the buck on to the next generation, your children. That becomes your meaning; your reason for being. There is no right answer because there is no right question. Just a sense of existence.