It just dawned on me... the older man becomes, the more he needs validation. Why?
He wants to get credit for what he has done in all his life. At a certain age, he believes that he has done something and wants acknowledgment for it. It is a source of his pride and a reflection of the rightness of his past decisions. He wants to be able to get what is due to him. There is an interplay here on man's desire for justice, belongingness and accomplishment and most of all a sense of efficacy.
