“Hi. My name is Mitch, and I’m a Millennial…”
[Insert gasps from the audience]
Millennials get a bad wrap. They’re labelled as “lazy”, “sensitive”, “entitled”, and “grit-less”. They’re looked down upon by many people… including themselves. I am sometimes one of those people… I find myself looking at my peers and thinking things like, “What is wrong with you?” and “Why the heck are you doing that?” But, being a millennial myself, here are some of the thoughts that I have as I work multiple jobs, pursue my passions, make family a priority, and try to make a difference in the world.
- I can’t do everything.
- I want to fix things. I’m a natural fixer. It’s what I like to do. It drives me crazy when I can’t. With the immediacy of the internet and social media, it is ridiculously easy to have access to information about the brokenness of the world. There’s famine, corrupt governments, food deserts, and people ripped from their homes. There’s so much not right with the world. And sometimes, it’s just going to have to be “OK”. It’s going to have to be ok that I can’t solve world hunger, fix a banking system, and not have a room for every single refugee in my little apartment. That doesn’t make me insensitive to the world, either. What this does, or should do, is heighten my awareness of the brokenness in my own backyard. What are the ways I can make a difference that are right in front of my face?
- I’m not alone.
- Millennials have surpassed Baby Boomers as the largest living generation. Yes. You read that right. There are more Millennials that Baby Boomers in the world. What this means is that there are other people like me, who feel very similar things to me: Wanting authentic community. Wanting to follow their passions. Wanting to make a difference. There are so many people in the world, and each of us has the opportunity to make a small, but significant, dent in the problems of the world. It just takes one person at a time, seeing what can be made better than what is right in front of them. So, what are the ways that you can make a difference right in front of your face?
- Things are changing.
- With the onslaught of articles critiquing, criticizing, and complaining about the Millennial generation and the ways the world is moving, we can clearly see that things are changing for many people. The old norms of communication, work place and status, and relationship dynamics and understanding are evolving. And this is a good thing. It is also a good thing for the people who have known the old systems to mourn the loss of the old. But, it is our job, as Millennials, to help those who mourn understand how to use the changes we have grown up with. It’s actually a good thing. Change is hard. And we can all work together to make it easier and more effective for everyone. So, what are the ways we can make a difference together, right in front of our faces?
- Now is better than never.
- Now. That little, three-letter word carries weight. It means “at the present time or moment”. Now is the time when we can make a change. Band together. Change the world. We need to not be afraid of the enormity of the brokenness of the world. We need each other to make everything better. We need to help others not be afraid of change. And now is the time to do it. So, what are the ways that we can make a difference, right in front of our faces… now?
– Mitch (and the LifeSuccess.com Team)
