In this blog, I want to talk about some trivial issues faced by me and many modern generation Millennials in general. Growing up, have I been able to set my own goals and priorities to work on or have I been pushed to follow suit a set of priorities that have been sewn together by different facets of our surroundings? Is it right to call this issue a part of an existential crisis that is affecting this generation of Millennials as they enter into a phase where they are either expected to be settled or settling down in life? Over the course of this article, I want to see if I can convince myself with some answers. Some of you might already raise an eyebrow and say "Oh! I do not think this applies to me. I have always dictated my own terms and never been forced into any priorities". Are you are one such person? Read on. I have a few questions for you as well.
Roll back to your childhood when you were in middle school. This is a time when our parents, teachers and pretty much everyone we get a chance to interact with all try to introduce and induce thoughts within us to develop idols, ideals and creativity. Moving towards High School, we are taught to focus on acquiring knowledge and to compete with our peers to embark on a successful career path. Then comes the segregation into various fields of careers we end up in. There are quite a few different factors that determine how we pursue our career after high school. Economic ability is a major factor. Passion, ambitions, peer pressures, populist opinions, etc.. are some of the factors. Whichever factor dominates among these would have a great impact in us becoming doctors, engineers, farmers, service industry workers, architects, journalists, sports personalities, social workers, family makers, day job workers and several others. Taking a closer look, isn't this a common pattern of a human's life over the last few centuries? The jobs and careers may have expanded and changed but the factors surrounding them have remained the same and ultimate goal also remains the same which is to make a successful career.
Now what really has changed over the last few decades? Why are Millennials and possibly the upcoming generations into the economy facing a whole new set of issues? Stress, Failure, Fear of Success, Fear of taking life decisions, peer pressure are all at all time highs. Let us look at some data that I think plays a very crucial role here.
World Population Statistics: [1]
| Year |
Population |
No. of Years
to Increase
by 1 Billion |
| 1803 |
1 Billion |
N/A |
| 1927 |
2 Billion |
124 Years |
| 1960 |
3 Billion |
33 Years |
| 1975 |
4 Billion |
15 Years |
| 1987 |
5 Billion |
12 Years |
| 1999 |
6 Billion |
12 Years |
| 2011 |
7 Billion |
12 Years |
| ~2024 |
8 Billion |
13 Years |
Data Source - https://ourworldindata.org/
World Literacy Statistics:
- In 1820, average World Literacy Rate was ~15%
- In 2016, it has been reversed with Literacy Rate increased to ~83% and Illiteracy at ~17% (Percentages subject to adults over 15 years of age)
Data Source: https://ourworldindata.org/
What is clear from the above statistics is that the population has increased drastically over the last two centuries and advancements and exposure to opportunities have contributed greatly to people acquiring basic skills through access to education. This should be genuinely a positive reform across the world. But this has contributed to several side-effects that has started to affect right when Millennials stepped into the economy and is all set to continue with Gen Z and upcoming generations as well. [Yes, Gen Z, people who were born after 1997, are already stepping into the economy now]
Intense Competition: This is the most pronounced side effect that is visible across the globe and across all career paths. With more population and more qualified people, the basic requirements for any job level increases by default and we tend to strive to compete with our peers at different stages of our career. It is no longer get a job and be set for the rest of your life.
Social Awkwardness: I want to compare this to Diabetes. Sugar is necessary for our survival. But when we go over the limit, our body refuses to handle it well and starts giving issues. Then we are forced into controlling something that was not the case before. Similarly, when we grow up, we mingle with a lot of people and with the advancements in technology, we try to stay connected to all of them as well. After a threshold, if not yourself, you would probably know someone from your peers going through troubles in mingling with people and interacting lesser and lesser with friends and relatives.
Stress: I cannot stress more on this factor. There are several articles explaining on how stress levels have drastically increased and individuals are becoming less able to manage stress all by themselves. Surveys report that Millennials are set to have the highest levels of stress across all living generations as of now.[3] And only 29% of Millennials from the survey are confident of managing their stress well.[3] With more competition and necessity to make ends meet and achieve our goals contribute to this obviously.
Compromising Passion over Responsibility: With the extensive growth in population and ever expanding dimensions, also comes several new passions and goals we develop for ourselves. Setting up goals in life is a great life skill but it is not always possible for us to achieve them realistically. Or at least not immediately. Several of us will be forced to compromise our passion to fulfill our responsibilities, whether it being financial, moral or acquired. This just adds more distress. It is important to not let our goals washed away amidst these compromises and critical to believe there will be a time where we will get a chance to revive them. If you are one of the few who are following your passion and fulfilling your responsibilities, GREAT. You are surely one of the lucky ones.
There are several other factors like Failure to meet expectations, relationship complications & infidelity, family pressure, Generational gaps, Cultural Faiths and Confusions. These are big issues and I so not want to talk about these in the current context. I believe these are not really just an effect of population growth.
Some of my close friends know that I am a victim of quite a few of the above factors and I have experienced most if not all the above mentioned issues. I have fought through like many of you amidst all this and tried to define my own set of ways to swim out of the low waters. And some ways, I have heard from other friends and similarly aged personalities' stories and I have found them inspiring to comply to. I want to talk about some of these. I am sure it may not be a one stop shop for all these issues but some of them should definitely help.
| 1. Being Kind to one another - It sounds simple but I find this very difficult to adhere to. We tend to get irritated with people very quickly more than what we realize. Try using kind words and actions to people you meet. We will be pleasantly surprised at how much self satisfaction and peace it gives us and how powerful it expresses than being rude. |
| 2. Accepting Reality - This is a slightly abstract solution but we tend to neglect the reality and tease ourselves with unreal actions and expectations. It does not mean that if we are not happy now, we need to accept that we will never be happy. We can address the reality that we currently are not happy and things could and will change. |
| 3. Keeping the fire to achieve our goals - If we have made compromises on our goals and career paths, it is ok. We have to ensure that the fire burns somewhere within and we can say to ourselves that they will come true sometime in the future. |
| 4. Need to Express - It is very easy to form into a bubble when life gives you lemons. What is really hard is to break the bubble and express ourselves more. Be it friends or family or other relationships, the more we express, the lighter our stress would feel. (I have had a hard time in doing this but I have promised myself to do better) |
| 5. Understanding what success really means to you as an individual - Many times, we fall prey to peer pressures and end up with forced expectations on ourselves. We need to understand what is it that really would give us happiness and what success really means to each of us. It is different with people. For some, it could be earning money, for some it could be taking care of our parents and for others it could to just earn enough to make ends meet and spend time traveling. |
| 6. Reducing Hurtful Gossips - Gossip sounds like a simple term for many of us but once it crosses a thin line of becoming hurtful, it merges with our thoughts and stays forever. What is the use of talking ill about something/someone when you do not have the guts to say it in front of them? It is crucial to be vindictive if you come across your peers doing the same. |
| 7. Searching for happiness in petite nuances in life - Sometimes we skip through the little things in life that we come across. Be it smiling at a cute baby, enjoying a long drive or cherishing a mid-week treat. These little things just adds up to get through our days and keep our spirits high. |
| 8. Switching on and off - We need to know how to switch ourselves on and off at the right times. Interchanging the modes often leads us to keep worrying about either our past or the future and thereby losing out on our present times. |
| 9. Conflict Resolution - It is sometimes easy and necessary to take sides for what you believe in. But from my little experience, I strongly believe that the best way to resolve conflicts and to have the best chances of our opinion to be valued is to walk the bridge of the conflict and being gentle. The more politely we put forth our points, the stronger our argument becomes. Strangely, I am surprised to not see this behavior across most of our peers and for a fact even with older people nowadays. |
| 10. Self Love - This is something that a lot of us tend to neglect. We always take the slightest chance we get to be hard on ourselves and take up blame for everything that is wrong. I think it is a top priority that we love ourselves more than anyone else. It just builds on our self confidence and makes us happy eventually. |
At the beginning, I said I have a question to the ones who think they have been balancing their life perfectly so far and being happy overcoming all situations thrown at you. First of all, GREAT JOB and I am inspired by people like you. Now, that said, does reading this remind you of anyone who is growing through any or all of these issues? And if yes, have you felt responsible to help them? You can see it as not being your job but if it is someone that you care for, being kind to them and offering your support could just provide that little push that they might need.
If you managed to read this long, thank you so much for spending your time. I hope it was useful and has been/will be of some help to you or ones you care about in the future.
If you have any comments or views to add, please feel free to comment below or email me at selfrefractions@gmail.com
References:
- https://ourworldindata.org/
- Ferri-Reed, Jan. "Millennials-generation" screwed" or generation" shrewd?"." The Journal for Quality and Participation 36, no. 1 (2013): 22.
- https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2012/generations