Contentment No.1980s
It was easy to spell it out in the title. Yet, when it comes to actually writing about contentment I get into a fight with the blank space on the screen. I don’t know how to put it all together. There must be hundreds of instances where I have witnessed close friends between the ages of 20 and 30 question their contentment from life. We all hope and reach for it, but have desperately failed until this point. The preparation never seems to end and we are humiliated by the fact that we are still not there. Not there after years of education, maturation and saturation. The SATs, the foreign language classes, the private tutors and the college degrees have all come and gone, but we are still not where we want to be. We are not making the difference. The difference we thought we were ready to make. What happens now? When will we get to leap forward?
Too afraid to accept failure, some of us re-certify the preparation-to-life period by going back to school. Others insist on being partially satisfied by sticking with jobs that pay just enough to get by. A smaller group puts the generic capitalist yearnings aside to try out the voluntary non-profit work. The rest dive into the family businesses to avoid risk. One way or the other, we all wait for the day when we can look back and say “it was worth it”. “It was worth it” for my parents to spend that much money on me. “It was worth it” to dedicate that much time to education. “It was worth it” to take this job away from my loved ones.
We, the generation of 1980s, have a great task ahead just like the generations before us. Yet, with all the advanced technology and the far reach of globalization, our expectations and desires might have quadrupled. Contentment, in its true meaning, will not come easy. We first have to be persuaded that we have achieved enough in life to make our sponsors content. Then we have to be convinced that we have gotten enough from life to make ourselves content. Content spiritually. Content materialistically. We felt that we have been ready to pay our dues. Maybe we became to impatient after reading about all the others that made it. The successful entrepreneur biographies online, the published diaries, the daily articles, the fancy photos and the TV exposes have brainwashed us. We grew envious and wanted our share of the spotlight. We became desperate for appreciation.
We have been dependent and we crave to be independent. We thought we would achieve so much in so less. Have we been fools? Have we been fooled? We keep hearing that we are still young when we confess our disappointment. We are ready to grow up. One way or the other we should get there. Let’s just hope we can soon find how to make and/or where to find the opportunity.
let’s hope
I was very content with what you wrote :))
I mean who achieved so much in so less… obviously the people who are recognized didnt become succesful over night. and in my opinion 3-4 years of working is only the begining. problem is if you feel unmotivated now then how are you planing on reaching success in the future?
Its mainly in your hands really.
Deniz keep in mind the people I refer to in this article. There is a generalization, but it still involves a small group that has gone thorough an intense preparation and education period. So the expectations and ambitions are much higher than usual.
There are actually numerous examples to people who achieved so much in so less. One extreme example could be Mark Zuckerberg. The bios for such people are easily accessible in the media nowadays and it is hard to disregard them. We keep reading more and more success stories (on the TV, the Internet and in magazines and books) and are drawn to it much more than the previous generations. We learn the value of taking risks. We see the return on going against the bigger crowd. Yet we are haunted by our own tiny achievements (if any, so far).
Motivation can not be there indefinitely. There has to be small achievements along the way to refresh it. In my opinion motivation is tied to contentment and recognition. Getting into a great college, the expectations after graduation was a contentment and recognition.
Some of us might have already become content with their achievements, but I feel like I still have a long way to go. Some might agree, some might not, but I have witnessed the same problem with a few of my friends.
I am not pessimistic, but I know I have failed so far at achieving the contentment I am yearning for. I still have motivation, but I hope I can preserve the same level until I can finally say “I am there”.
I look forward to your reply.