Everyone experiences life in stages. Each stage has its unique circumstances, problems, lessons, cycles, emotions and frequency. These stages shape how we see the world, how we think and behave, and how we connect with others. As a consequence of being in a specific life stage, our minds adjusts to our current situation. The opposite is also true—just as our situation can change our mind, our mind can change our situation.
There are five main life stages: Survival, Default, Creation, Flow, and Abundance. These mindsets are well-established in psychology, neuroscience and personal development.
Survival Mode: Is a state of fight-or-flight, mainly used by animals in the wild. It’s mentioned in the lower tiers of Maslow's hierarchy—physiological and safety needs—and the survival-based mindset described by Joe Dispenza.
Default Mode: Represents a stage of routine and comfort, where one lives on autopilot. One prefers to fit in and meet the social demands more than their own.
Creation Mode: Is a state of conscious intention, curiosity and hope. It corresponds to Carol Dweck's growth mindset, Wayne Dyer's power of intention, and Joe Dispenza's neuroplastic change.
Flow Mode: This is the mindset of peak performance seen in world-class athletes, artists, and others who excel in their crafts. It embodies Csikszentmihalyi's concept of "flow," where challenges and skills align perfectly.
Abundance Mode: Is a state of generosity, purpose, and continuous growth. It reflects Maslow's self-actualization and Tony Robbins' emphasis on contribution and fulfillment.
There's a natural progression that almost everyone goes through: We begin in creation mode from birth to our first days at school. Until age 7, our subconscious mind is wide open to the world. We absorb behaviors and information from our surroundings. Every day brings new adventures and discoveries, making us view bedtime as an unwanted interruption.
When we start school and enter social life, we encounter routine for the first time. Each weekday follows a fixed schedule. Life becomes predictable, and social influences begin to shape our actions. We start doing things not by excitement, but to avoid pain or gain peer’s approval. This marks our entry into default mode.
Without a sufficient passion or hobby to keep us conscious, we can quickly slip from creation to default mode into survival mode—the lowest stage. However, if we stay conscious, we might stay in creation mode longer and potentially advance to flow mode.
Imagine flow mode as our Rocky moment, we keep pushing forward regardless of circumstances. Life moves naturally, like a river flowing to the sea. There is no thinking, just action.
Eventually, we might reach abundance mode—the highest stage. Here, everything exceeds our expectations, and we're driven to keep growing and giving back.
While this is a common progression, everyone experiences it differently. At some point, either consciously or unconsciously, we choose which path to take.
Each stage influences our life, worldviews, motivations, moods, relationships, and daily decisions.
The main difference between stages lies in their emotional quality and life experience. Higher stages bring richer emotions and better quality of life, while lower stages bring the opposite.
Life becomes simpler at higher stages. In abundance, setbacks transform into opportunities for learning—you might even smile at challenges. In survival, anxiety and negative emotions dominate, and you focus solely on problems.
Every situation contains both positive and negative aspects, that's what makes them complete. Nothing has inherent meaning, we are the ones to assign meaning through our mindset.
Each stage has its own “symptoms” that can be recognized once you are aware of them.
Identifying your current stage helps you recognize immediate obstacles and necessary actions.Here is a simple test to discover your current life stage: Take the test
Your mindset and life situation don't always align immediately.
Our minds set the tone. When we encounter a specific situation, the reaction we’ll have from our mind will either amplify or diminish our experience. For example: when facing a survival situation with a survival mindset, you'll amplify the difficulties. However, if you maintain a creation mindset and persist through challenges, you'll eventually minimize the survival situation and transform it into a default or even creation one.
Not everyone progresses through all stages—many people move downward, from creation to default to survival. This applies even to wealthy individuals. While money plays a role, you can be rich yet live in survival mode, just as you can have little money but exist in abundance.
A powerful breakthrough can lift you directly from survival to creation, skipping default mode. By contrast, an intense trauma can drop you from creation straight to survival. That is why it’s important to learn how to manage one’s mindset to better navigate life changing events.
Life stages naturally fluctuate throughout our life—we may return to lower stages to learn essential lessons for our next level. These experiences are necessary for self-growth and will teach us important lessons. This cyclical nature reflects life's fundamental pattern—everything is fluid, always in motion, constantly shifting and evolving.
While these five stages represent the common human experience, they aren't the limit. Additional levels exist in both directions, though most people remain within these five stages.
One of the stages above abundance is the enlightenment, also known as “Samadhi” in Hindu and Buddhist traditions. It refers to a state of profound meditation and consciousness while representing the highest level of mental concentration and spiritual absorption, where the practitioner experiences complete unity with the universal consciousness. This state goes way beyond the five life stages mentioned previously here as Samadhi is a transcendent level of existence and awareness.
Ultimately, the journey never really ends.
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