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One or two components (rarely as many as three) have a central place in the structure.  Others, though important, are more peripheral, and still others are quite marginal or detached from the center.  The central components have the greatest significance for the self and for the evolving life course.  They receive the largest share of one’s time and energy, and they strongly influence the choices made in other aspects of life.  The peripheral components are easier to detach and change; they involve less investment of the self and are less crucial to the fabric of one’s life.

The Seasons of A Man’s Life, Daniel J. Levinson, page 44