Doom, gloom, and eventually "boom." You can be a pessimist for so long before it actually affects you. You can learn pessimism, fall into persistent rumination, and suffer from "learned helplessness." Your worldview can be impacted. We can "catastrophize" ("imagine the worst possible outcome") if we choose to.
There is a natural Negativity Bias that can draw us in. I liked this one so much I included it twice in my predisposition book, Unseen Influence: Unconscious Predisposition in Dispute Resolution (available for free download at dwlangham.com).
In the process of our negativity, we can suffer from a psychological state of "learned helplessness." We can see the world as a place in which we lack control. This can lead to defeatism and impact our ability or willingness to get off the couch and do something about it.
I was reminded of this while reading a recent article from Fortune: Boomer NYU professor says Gen Z’s lazy label comes from zero faith in the payoff of hard work—and a fear that the world will end in 20 years anyway
There is a generation of young people out there who think they have no control over their futures? They see the world as a harsh and challenging place? They have fallen into a wave of despair, live in a world of uncertainty, and have bought into their own fragility.
I doubt that it helps when the old folks refer to them with the dismissive and diminishing "snowflake." There is unlikely any comfort in the blame heaped on their parents for being "helicopters" and for making sure every kid got a trophy.
For those who have bought into the catastrophizing, no, the world will not end in 20 years. No, your situation is not any more doubtful, dismal, or challenging than any other generation's. The fact is that your best advice comes from Bob Marley (Three Little Birds, UMG 1977): "don't worry about a thing, 'cause every little thing gonna be alright."
Yes, we were being reassured in the 1970s. Why? because there was doubt, angst, and pessimism.
See, the news feeds pessimism. No one is going to tune in for a broadcast full of puppies, sunshine, and joy. We crave the negative. See Dirty Laundry (Don Henley, 1982). The advent of the 24-hour news cycle, then the 30-minute news cycle, made our anxiety worse.
Social media has deepened the pit of despair. Click on one video of puppies playing and you will receive a cascade of such entertainment. Click one about the war in Gazania and you will soon be under an avalanche of negativity.
Thank God that older generations did not suffer from such challenges (sarcasm alert). You cannot afford a home? Interest rates today hover around 7% and are seen as inhibiting home availability and sales. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, mortgage rates were more than double that: 16.64%. You read that right.
Oh, I cannot find a job that challenges and rewards me? Well, underemployment has been recognized since the 1970s and has been a reliable market indicator since the 1990s, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. I knew college graduates in the early 1980s who waited tables, worked in call centers, and even (gasp) worked part-time. Yes, many college graduates started life in jobs that did not require a degree.
I won't belabor the point. There are many such examples, from inflation to markets to threats (we had the Cold War, potential nuclear winter, and more). The world is not ending. Your challenges are not new. You are not facing anything that others have not. Uncertainty and challenge are inevitable, persistent, and recurrent.
There is good news for the Generation Z members who are getting out of bed each day, showering, brushing their teeth, and going to work on time. Because so many of your peers are pessimistic, catastrophizing, naysayers, there is an amazing opportunity for those of you who are getting the job done.
Your generation entered the professional world in 2019 (Generation Z was born 1997-2012; assuming college graduation at 22 years old). The first of the "next wave," the "Generation Alpha" was born roughly 2010-2024. They are more fully engaged, motivated by their future, and competitive (these are anecdotal perceptions). They will enter the professional workforce (22-year-old graduation) beginning in 2032.
The Generation Z need to think that through. Technology will not eliminate jobs and professions, but it will shape them. The world will not suffer catastrophe, but it will evolve and change. There is inevitability that the old folks (me) will fade:
- The Greatest Generation (GI Generation), 1901–1924, started retiring in 1966.
- The Silent Generation (Traditionalists). 1925–1945 , started retiring in 1990.
- Baby Boomers: 1946–1964, started retiring in 2011.
- Generation X, 1965–1980, will start retiring in 2030.
- Millennials (Generation Y), 1980–1994, will start retiring in 2045.
Someone will have to run the world. Each generation has enjoyed its moment of primacy. There is a time when the business owners, managers, and leaders were of some particular generation. Their time came, it passed, and they faded into the past, obscurity, and history. Each came with goals, dreams, and promises. Each had victories, failures, and fallout.
Each time that happened (not in some event, but through evolution and erosion), the "next generation" stepped in to own, manage, and lead. This is inexorable. But, you might note, there were many in each era that followed instead. That is true. There will always be those who follow, labor, and struggle. Newsflash - life is not equitable or fair. Never was, never will be. Don't let the utopianists or the socialists sell you that fallacy.
Who takes over? Who leads? Who owns? Who manages? Who leads? The fact is, with each such evolution, it has been those who worked hard, persevered, innovated, imagined, and persisted (O.K., and some few who were born with silver spoons in their mouths - but for the rest of us, read on).
This is perhaps a bit stressful for the younger reader. No fear. Those reading this are likely among the portion of Generation Z who will,, in fact, take over. Those who are incisive, curious, and focused will read, study, and plan. The good news for them is that a great many of their peers have elected to withdraw from the field. They have decided to be pessimists, defeatists, and naysayers. They are the ones described by the Fortune Boomer above.
Good news for the achievers! Your competition has largely left the field, taken their participation trophy, and gone home. The field is yours (pick a field). There is a great expanse now left open for those who would do extreme things like:
- Get up daily,
- Shower,
- Dress,
- Get to work on time (at the office),
- Seek challenges,
- Suffer setbacks,
- Grow,
- Evolve,
- Lead.
Us old folks see ourselves in you achievers. We are ready and willing to mentor, encourage, and even commiserate. We are prepared to support your growth and development. We are your biggest fans and appreciate you. We see you taking the lead as we once did. And we hope you understand that the withdrawal and defeatism of your peers has made your ascendance a fait accompli and inevitability. Instead of competing against an entire population/generation, you need only outperform your indolent and unmotivated peers.
Don't tell your naysaying peers. Let them sit home and lament their fearful misperceptions. Let them spend their effort on fear, doubt, and FacePlace. They will all be working for you one day. Or, when the Gen Alphas begin arriving in the professions in 2032, those Gen Zs who sat home and lamented will simply be passed over by a new generation of motivated, energized, and optimistic participants.
Either way, the world will persevere, prosper, and succeed. The path forward will always be toward success. That path will always include some who choose to sit down along it at some stage and withdraw. That is no reason for one of them to be you. Stay the course. If you have the patience to read this excessively long post, you have the wherewithal to win. Stay in the game: “Improvise, Adapt and Overcome!” (Clint Eastwood, Heartbreak Ridge, Warner Brothers, 1986).
Sticking with Eastwood's "old folks," mentoring, and motivating character, know that the next generation can always overcome and achieve. Do so. Or, prepare to get out of the Alpha's way, because they will. This world is not the "cluster&^%%$" some might misperceive. That misperception is their problem, not yours.
