A Young Generation feeling Crisis
The ages of 18-26 are a very critical transition time in a person’s life to become an established part of working society. The Quarter life crisis is when a person in this age group feels depression & anxiety over their life’s direction. I work with many people in crisis and the process to handle quarter-life crisis is a relatively clear cut teaching process.
However, today in 2011 things have shifted in an unexpected manner.
Society itself currently is in Mid life crisis.
This creates a major problem. Society itself in crisis is clashing with a younger generation in quarter-life crisis. In 2011 Quarterlife crisis is quickly becoming a major buzz word due to greater numbers of younger adults questioning their roles in society. This generation’s quarter-life crisis has been amplified and made into a more severe event thanks to the ever growing social crisis limiting everyone’s options. In fact, the situation is as extreme as the 1960′s and I am seeing the most extreme personal quarter-life crisis situations in my experience.
Right now, around the world, society is turning away the current younger generation. Jobs are harder and harder to find. Unemployment rates in the USA in late 2011 have been going over 20% for this age group, and in many countries such as Spain or Greece are hitting over 50% in the rural areas for this age group. Even worse, the jobs that are available are almost always low wage and foster poor self esteem. Even worse, austerity measures in many countries translate to governments and authorities enacting stricter policies that directly impact the youth in a disproportionate manner. All of this has a profound effect of isolating the 18-26 age group rather than helping them become part of the older social networks. The end result pushes many more younger adults into feeling the crisis now since they haven’t been given a choice. The riots in London are a direct result of this situation and the revolutions in the Middle East are being fueled by this younger generation. Additionally, new tools as Facebook, Reddit, Twitter and others are tools developed by the younger generation to pull themselves together into a new social framework, which further removes them from older networks.
Instead of being kind, instead of being inclusive: government reactions are actually further isolating the youth away from mainstream society. For example the British government’s response to the recent riots was to maximize jail time and to further downplay the needs of the youth. This cycle is only making the current social mid life crisis worse, it’s only giving more energy to the youth to find new solutions.
Society is evolving, the mistake to make is thinking that it’s possible to maintain the older system of doing business. Ironically, this isn’t a political issue as much it’s an economic & business problem. The older ways of business are what have devoured an entire planet, left trash heaps of toxic lifestyles and now has isolated a whole generation from having a voice. Fundamentally it are corporate structures, maximizing profit ideals and business practices that are in need of change. The political issues come into play only because the current set of politicians are backed by a few powerful business interests around the world who are consolidating power away from the younger generation.
This new generation, has a voice and the voice to be heard is in how each person transforms in their life… Quarter-life crisis really is all about transformation. Discover in this case, transformation means changing fundamentally how this generation will live and work in the society around them. In transformation it’s possible to find grace and a middle ground between the old and the new. The old always passes away, its only always a matter of time. So the real question is this, will the old wake up to work with the transformation at hand and help the young in quarter-life crisis build a better world, or will the old with power, in greed, attempt to hoard everything and kick the youth back down to the curb. This is a very real issue as the riots of England did show.
If conflict happens, it isn’t the fault of the younger generation, it is weakness from pride and greed of the older generation that refuses to age gracefully.
Many people coming here are asking questions, they are feeling something is very wrong in their life. Since society is in mid life transformation, this means much of the problem is:
“What is wrong with society and why is it so hard to fit in?”
To those feeling Quarter-life crisis understand you are feeling a very real problem. Don’t think it’s your fault for not fitting in or finding decent work. Your actions speak loudly, every action, every purchase, every lifestyle choice you make: effects society. You have the power to change it all, simply by how you live. The severity of your Quarterlife crisis is directly dependent to how hard you trying to live to the old broken system ideals. Since the older system is actively kicking you out, that means the harder you try to fit in, the worse you will be treated by society. Discover that the answer to resolving Quarterlife crisis is about trying to live a better life on your own terms!
Quarterlife crisis isn’t something you cure, it’s something you live thru to improve your life situation.
Quarter-life crisis solutions come out of carefully and continually
refining the choices made in your lifestyle.
Understand that the larger social journey of the modern world evolving out of its mid life crisis will take 9 to 30 years to occur. This longer timing is due to the fact that society itself is a reflection of every person. The current social mid life crisis is a process of social evolution balancing out the actions of billions of people. So that will take a little extra time to sort out.
This means something special to those in quarterlife crisis now.
Be patient:
Otherwise you will burn yourself out before actually helping the world truly change.
Quarterlife crisis today in 2011 is a different process for this generation, as the current social mid life crisis of our society is forcing the youth into a new game. Be patient since in being patient you will be able to define the rules of the new game. Rushing means getting defined by the larger social crisis that is underway, rather than helping grow the society into something better.
5 Responses to Quarterlife Crisis Today
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Society has been in a midlife crisis for centuries, hasn’t it?
@Branden: We have had periods of change. And modern society has had moments of crisis before. But this period is something special, it really matches to many of the symptoms that we would see in a person experiencing mid life crisis.
Also because I work with people in change, I can see things which other people would miss and what struck me the most is how finely I could see the wave of social change happen. No our society went into midlife crisis in mid 2011. That has deep ramifications for all of us. Eventually I will have to write up an article on it.
Right now those near quarter life crisis or midlife crisis are being hit the hardest as it’s literally tipping people who wouldn’t normally be experiencing crisis into having to deal with personal transformation.
If people treat this as a time of transformation, they will do very well
However, if people resist the change, or try to hold to the past or become judgmental about how things should be, then it will be a very messy time for them.
Awareness is everything and how you grow with change is the opportunity we are presented by this social phenomenon.
What is the fundamental problem underlying the Taoist faith? I do not mean problems with the religion/philosophy, itself, rather I mean the purpose Taoism tries to fix. For example, the fundamental problem underlying Christianity is the existence of sin.
Connor
@connor: Taoism has too fundamental aspects
1) Show people how to deal with the unknown with grace rather than forced concepts.
2) Teach people how to explore and work with their nature rather than having a person limiting themselves to an outside ideal that erodes them away.
We don’t think anything needs to be fixed, Its great to strive and expand in ones essence but we teach awareness and how to explore one’s essence rather than giving a predefined box to fit everyone into.
Most people prefer a box.. (and that box ends up being a coffin in the end)
Thank you very much. Your advice was very helpful
Outside the box,
Connor