Generation Why (Do I Feel This Way?)
By: Peter Brewster
Tags: Life Lessons, Storytelling, Job, Life, Meaning

Generation Why (Do I Feel This Way?)

Is it unwise to expect personal fulfillment in our work? Are we an entitled generation of dreamers?

If you spend as much time on the internet as I do, you might have come across an article that was floating around a while back called Why Generation Y Yuppies Are Unhappy. The article features a series of graphs and stick-figure comics that illustrate a wide array of stereotypes regarding Generation Y (or Millennials, Gen Now, Echo Boomers, take your pick!). The gist of it is that thanks to a childhood of cheerleading parents and teachers stuffing our brains with self-esteem-boosters, we have grown up with outrageous expectations about what the future has to bring. Even worse, our intolerable sense of self-entitlement makes us feel that those expectations should be met without the slightest resistance. The author breaks down the apparently epidemic unhappiness experienced by this generation into a simple formula…

Now, I’m not saying that every argument made in the article is to be taken to heart. By the immediate backlash that resulted, I know for a fact that at least some individuals disagree entirely. But if we assume for a second that the general point of it is valid; then let me go out on a limb here and confess that I can totally relate. Did a little voice accompany me throughout my childhood and adolescence, perkily insisting that I was special? Guilty. Do lingering whispers of the like continue to haunt me as I embark on my thirties? Perhaps?

A Generation of Dreamers

Since I can remember, the theater was my thing. I was a natural entertainer, had a strong character and wild ambition. Even as I neared High School graduation — when adolescent anxiety and insecurity had long become staples in my psyche — I was still bound for either Broadway or Hollywood. Neither dream was too big! Even as my interests would shift from writing to music theater, and eventually to fashion design, there was no doubt in my mind that I had a unique talent, a perspective so unique that I had to share it with the entire world.

God help me if I wasn’t going to be a HUGE. DEAL.

You may be laughing now, but I wasn’t the only one. It seemed like everyone around me was a dreamer. Apparently all of my peers were giving heed to the wise words of John Mayer in No Such Thing, a song I feel accurately sums up our generation on a level that the article in question can’t even touch. Sure, once college admissions became an impending fact of life, a lot of them would “wake up” or “get serious”. However, if their voices were anywhere near as convincing and persistent as mine, there’s no way a mere career path alignment would be enough to snuff them out for good.

I commend all of those that go after their dreams. My hat totally goes off to the truly special ones with enough tenacity, focus and work ethic to turn those dreams into reality. But besides those traits, and an enormous amount of talent, one thing usually makes the difference between a professional athlete and high school sports coach, a Broadway debut and a chorus gig on a cruise ship, a New York Times best-seller and a column in a local rag.

That thing I’m referring to, of course, is luck.

So where does that leave us misfortunate ones who just can’t seem to catch our big break no matter how hard we try? Are we living happy, satisfied lives? It depends on the attitude of each person I suppose. But we live in an age which is getting increasingly more complicated with every decade that passes. We’re persuaded by social media to peer into the airbrushed lives of every two-bit celebrity and casual acquaintance whose name we can remember. With an unlimited feed of our picture-perfect peers with inflated job titles and candy-coated status updates, it gets tough not to compare your situation with that of others.

The Curse of Comparison

Sometimes I think about what some of my long-lost friends and acquaintances sum up from my Facebook feed. Apart from being happily married and living in sunny Barcelona, I am one of the select few who is actually making a living in a creative field — add bonus points for using my degree! But after several years, even the high of seeing someone walk down a crowded street dressed in one of my designs has grown faint.

Years ago, a naive version of myself might have convinced you that by designing pretty prints, I was somehow brightening the days of shoppers all over the world who feel just a bit more attractive, cute, or special by wearing my work. Years later, however, I mostly believe if they hadn’t found that particular floral dress or graphic tee, they would have gone and found something just as nice in the shop next door. Basically, I’m pretty close to having the exact job I was aiming for as I graduated from college (when external factors had already made me slightly more realistic) and I’m still confronted with all of these feelings of envy, apathy, and disappointment.

But where do they come from?

So let’s say I am one of these insufferable Gen Y creatures that are getting all the bad rap. What do I do to combat these feelings? Is there a recovery path?

For me, the knowledge that this is a wide-spread problem provides some relief. Whenever I feel an existential crisis coming on, and work has me feeling lethargic, I try my best to keep it in check. I find an old fashioned remedy — telling yourself it’s just a job! — can be quite effective. Seriously, so many problems could be easily alleviated by grasping this concept. However, when you spend far more time in your work environment than at home, it makes it awfully tricky to keep your priorities aligned and maintain this mentality.

What Am I Good For?

The problem is that our self-identity and self-worth often get tangled up with our professional ambitions. In order to draw the line, a great deal of self-awareness is required. Do you even know what it is that makes you happy? Have you ever taken a moment to analyze your habits and the patterns in your daily life and how they are affecting your well-being? I found a great article on Life Balance, Happiness and Life Change that encourages you to really dive deep into these issues and become a more balanced person. Sometimes just a handful of tweaks in the way you live and perceive your life can vastly impact your outlook on the bigger picture.

The truth is that we are living in a very global world now. Information is literally buzzing through the air between us, connecting people in so many amazing ways; but also making our own, simple, little lives seem evermore small and insignificant. But they aren’t!

Life is a personal path with interpersonal consequences.

I believe that our real job on this planet is to continue to grow and evolve and see just how far we can take it in the few years we have. But on the way, we make connections with others that have a lasting impact on them. Those people, forever changed by your kindness or inspiration will go on to connect with countless other people, and so it goes.

There is one really good side to this generation of wildly ambitious dreamers. What binds us together is a burning desire to make a difference. We just need to remember that there are millions of us out there. We don’t have to take on the whole world alone.

Further Reading: