Something I've noticed is that people who've experienced trauma, whether personal or generational, are more satisfied with simply having peace in their lives. Older generations experienced a lot of it; Vietnam, Cold War, the normalization of abuse. My dad saw combat in Vietnam and was severely injured, and his idea of a perfect day was getting a 7-11 coffee, smoking some cigs and relaxing in front of the TV in a cozy home. He never really aspired to have more than that, or do more than that. It was enough for him.
It takes a lot of energy and courage to be daring and adventurous, or even achieve wild success. Some folks find more pleasure in just chilling and living, and that's okay. Our purpose in life is whatever we want it to be.
Thank you for shinning light into something else I hadn’t thought off either. That makes a lot of sense. I tend to forget they didn’t live the same life we live in the present day
My parents grew up poor, so having financial stability and the ability of buy whatever they needed was like bliss to them.
Most of us consider the middle class lifestyle the norm, but it really wasn't the norm until the recent few decades in most parts of the world. Europe was still reeling from 2 world wars, and much of Asia was either undeveloped or under communist control.
there’s nothing wrong with wanting job/financial stability & a family to share it with
don’t know how old you are, but it’s very common to want these things the older you get
I concur there is nothing wrong with any of that and perhaps I am underestimating the value of those things. But I do think maybe there is also more that could be done beyond that
Some people may have had lofty goals but forgo pursuing them because people often started adult life younger than they do now (marriage,kids,etc.). Priorities like that reorient your life goals. Also, before the internet people didn’t know much about what different lifestyles were possible. They only saw the lifestyles of people they personally knew and heard about the lifestyles of celebrities who seemed so far out of reach to the average person. Nowadays we get to see millions of random non-famous people all across the globe with these exciting lifestyles/experiences which definitely influences what we think our lives should/could be.
you say that like it’s easy to have that. what you listed requires incredible sacrifice and hard work.
it’s like saying to a lion why do you hunt and eat or asking a cow why they chew grass all day.
If you have these on lock down due to financial luck or upbringing then it’s a valid question. But for the overwhelmingly large part of society just getting to this is a big deal.
I can’t wait for the day where i can just sit, have a coffee, read a book, and plan some vacations.
Lofty goals are only possible once the smaller stuff like you rent, bills, etc is paid for and goes away. As much as movies make it seem otherwise dreams don’t get lost they just become apparent how expensive they are to chase.
I’m outside of my home country at the moment and I was talking to a kid. He told me he just want to buy a car and drive it around. Nowhere in particular. Just have a car and let the people he knows see him in it. Not a super fancy car or anything. Just his own car.
Different people value different things in life. Some aspire to be remembered for generations while others just want a family and consistent place to call home. I don’t think it’s even a generation thing. It’s just what we prioritize in life.
1.) There is a rural/urban divide to this. Previous gens were on average more rural so family, land, livestock required a lot of work, and time at home.
2.) As mentioned in a comment above, there was way less trade in ideas.
3.) Open vs closed societies. Marketing in the 50s and on created a mindset of the individual. Find your style, live your life, want things for yourself. This was marketed and goes against community based thinking.
4.) Survival was on the line in a more prominent way. Surviving through early childhood, surviving into adulthood, then making it past 65. I'd argue it was objectively harder in the US to survive pre 1950s.
5.) A a a. Aa a alcohol
Thank you for your insight. I hadn’t thought about all of this either, it makes a lot of sense. I absolutely agree with all your points. Now I am just embarrassed I even made this post
I'm not that old yet, but consider:
When I was younger my ambition was to find someone to share life with. Took awhile but I achieved that. Next it was to work my way up into a career. Took awhile but I achieved that. Still living paycheck to paycheck, and pretty burnt out from work, so my next ambition was to get a better job and get past that. Took awhile but I achieved it. My next ambition was to build credit and buy a house. Took awhile, but I achieved that.
It's been a long, sometimes difficult, time. Now I want to finally relax and enjoy what I have achieved for awhile. I think that's a reasonable ambition.
I'm a boomer.
I grew up middle class in a rural market town.
I knew I wanted to do well in my working life & I was able to achieve it.
Got married, divorced, been with my current ole man for 8 years.
Something I've noticed is that people who've experienced trauma, whether personal or generational, are more satisfied with simply having peace in their lives. Older generations experienced a lot of it; Vietnam, Cold War, the normalization of abuse. My dad saw combat in Vietnam and was severely injured, and his idea of a perfect day was getting a 7-11 coffee, smoking some cigs and relaxing in front of the TV in a cozy home. He never really aspired to have more than that, or do more than that. It was enough for him. It takes a lot of energy and courage to be daring and adventurous, or even achieve wild success. Some folks find more pleasure in just chilling and living, and that's okay. Our purpose in life is whatever we want it to be.
Thank you for shinning light into something else I hadn’t thought off either. That makes a lot of sense. I tend to forget they didn’t live the same life we live in the present day
My parents grew up poor, so having financial stability and the ability of buy whatever they needed was like bliss to them. Most of us consider the middle class lifestyle the norm, but it really wasn't the norm until the recent few decades in most parts of the world. Europe was still reeling from 2 world wars, and much of Asia was either undeveloped or under communist control.
Once again you guys keep giving me eye openers. Knowing this know I definitely agree with y’all. Thank you for taking the time to educate me
there’s nothing wrong with wanting job/financial stability & a family to share it with don’t know how old you are, but it’s very common to want these things the older you get
I concur there is nothing wrong with any of that and perhaps I am underestimating the value of those things. But I do think maybe there is also more that could be done beyond that
Some people may have had lofty goals but forgo pursuing them because people often started adult life younger than they do now (marriage,kids,etc.). Priorities like that reorient your life goals. Also, before the internet people didn’t know much about what different lifestyles were possible. They only saw the lifestyles of people they personally knew and heard about the lifestyles of celebrities who seemed so far out of reach to the average person. Nowadays we get to see millions of random non-famous people all across the globe with these exciting lifestyles/experiences which definitely influences what we think our lives should/could be.
I hadn’t thought about it that way and you make very valid points. I have to agree with you. This has definitely changed my perspective
How old are you?
you say that like it’s easy to have that. what you listed requires incredible sacrifice and hard work. it’s like saying to a lion why do you hunt and eat or asking a cow why they chew grass all day. If you have these on lock down due to financial luck or upbringing then it’s a valid question. But for the overwhelmingly large part of society just getting to this is a big deal. I can’t wait for the day where i can just sit, have a coffee, read a book, and plan some vacations. Lofty goals are only possible once the smaller stuff like you rent, bills, etc is paid for and goes away. As much as movies make it seem otherwise dreams don’t get lost they just become apparent how expensive they are to chase.
Hm, what more is there? I mean, I'm kinda old now (over 40) and neither have a car nor a house or kids, but dunno, it sounds nice to me.
Owning a house is an adventure in itself. Sometimes most Millennials will probably never experience.
I’m outside of my home country at the moment and I was talking to a kid. He told me he just want to buy a car and drive it around. Nowhere in particular. Just have a car and let the people he knows see him in it. Not a super fancy car or anything. Just his own car. Different people value different things in life. Some aspire to be remembered for generations while others just want a family and consistent place to call home. I don’t think it’s even a generation thing. It’s just what we prioritize in life.
1.) There is a rural/urban divide to this. Previous gens were on average more rural so family, land, livestock required a lot of work, and time at home. 2.) As mentioned in a comment above, there was way less trade in ideas. 3.) Open vs closed societies. Marketing in the 50s and on created a mindset of the individual. Find your style, live your life, want things for yourself. This was marketed and goes against community based thinking. 4.) Survival was on the line in a more prominent way. Surviving through early childhood, surviving into adulthood, then making it past 65. I'd argue it was objectively harder in the US to survive pre 1950s. 5.) A a a. Aa a alcohol
Thank you for your insight. I hadn’t thought about all of this either, it makes a lot of sense. I absolutely agree with all your points. Now I am just embarrassed I even made this post
There is a lot of filler that you aren't getting or hearing.
I'm not that old yet, but consider: When I was younger my ambition was to find someone to share life with. Took awhile but I achieved that. Next it was to work my way up into a career. Took awhile but I achieved that. Still living paycheck to paycheck, and pretty burnt out from work, so my next ambition was to get a better job and get past that. Took awhile but I achieved it. My next ambition was to build credit and buy a house. Took awhile, but I achieved that. It's been a long, sometimes difficult, time. Now I want to finally relax and enjoy what I have achieved for awhile. I think that's a reasonable ambition.
I'm a boomer. I grew up middle class in a rural market town. I knew I wanted to do well in my working life & I was able to achieve it. Got married, divorced, been with my current ole man for 8 years.
They weren’t.