He believed the theory was relevant for understanding adults lives, especially as they aged and various demands or pressures increased. Howard believed that being an adult means facing continuous growth, change, and integration, in which constant effort must be made to use the energy available for meeting normal living responsibilities. However, because people have less than perfect control over many aspects of their lives, they must find ways to be prepared to meet unpredictable crises or problems. This formula clearly suggests that the greater the power in relationship to the load the more margin will be available. The load-power ratio changes and adjusts throughout the adult years with changes in any of the power or load factors.
Surplus power provides a margin or cushion to handle load requirements.
Margin can be increased by reducing load or increasing power. In other words, the more margin one has, the greater the chance of dealing with sources of load. The less margin one has, the lower the chance of dealing with sources of load. He further divided load into two groups of interacting elements, one external and one internal. Internal load consists of life expectancies developed by people themselves, such as aspirations, desires, and future expectations.