In his research, Dan McAdams focuses on adults who are especially generative, those who are most concerned with the well-being of future generations. Want to know how you’d rate on McAdams’ scale? If you’ve performed the following behaviors once or more during the past two months, you can consider yourself highly generative:
Taught somebody a skill
Did volunteer work for a charity
Told somebody about your childhood
Babysat for someone else’s children
Made a decision that influenced many people
Picked up garbage off the street or some other area that is not your property
Attended a community or neighborhood meeting
Gave a stranger directions on how to get somewhere
Contributed time or money to a political or social cause
Planted or tended a garden, tree, flower or other plant
Cooked a meal for friends
Donated blood
Sewed or mended a garment or other object
Restored or rehabbed part of a house or a piece of furniture
Assembled or repaired a child’s toy
Learned a new skill (computer, language, musical instrument, welding, etc.)