The crisis between Levels 1 and 2 comes when a child s about 8 years old, on through puberty. But I m not the clone of my parents. It gets worsened at puberty because the adolescent knows it s no longer a child. Adolescents have to go out and find a non-child identity. They can go to Level 2 or Level 3 or Level 4.
People walk down the street and all they can do is compare.
Most children will choose a little of each level. But the dominant choice in this culture is Level 2. They ll literally collapse into nothingness unless they get that ego fix, unless they achieve more and more each passing year. Once you get into this mode, the stakes are so high you can t afford to lose. If you lose, you re going to get depressed or shift to jealousy.