Going Through the Motions Just to Get By

Feb 20, 2008 - 10:05 AM PST

I pay attention to the news and all of the experts’ studies on the worst problems with young people. One week we hear oral sex in middle schools is destroying youth today. The next week bullying is affecting every age group. The list goes on and on about what we should be looking out for. I think the problem that most “experts” are missing is the mass amount of people today that are just going through the motions and aren’t doing something they care about.

For most quarterlifers this may have started all the way back in high school. You did everything you could to get into the best college possible. You played a sport, joined every organization under the sun, volunteered, played an instrument, and did whatever you heard you needed to in order to make your college resume the best it could be. And you got into the college of your dreams or the college you hoped to be accepted to, but when you were there you picked a major, took your gen eds, took your requirements for the major, you got internships and did what people told you to do to hit the next level. Then you got out of college and now you’re in your job working as hard as you can, continuing the pattern you learned so long ago, which is to do everything you have to in order to get ahead. One day you wake up and as you’re heading into work you realize that this isn’t what you want to be doing at all, but it’s where you are and you don’t know how to get out. Sound familiar?

If this does sound familiar, you’re definitely not alone. There is way more pressure on young people today from the time they enter middle school to do whatever they can to get ahead. It turns into this problem where they stop doing the things they want to do and start doing the things they have to do. Unfortunately, a lot of us don’t realize how bad it is until we’re well out of college and then everyone tells you it’s part of the quarterlife crisis. It could be, or it could come from one million other things. It’s definitely important to think about where it started, but even more important to take action on what you can do to deal with it.

If you’re stuck with the job you hate, then take time for yourself everyday to do something you love and don’t let work dominate your life. You don’t have to go totally Office Space in your life. You can manage the job you dislike with other interests outside your office. And if you do want to go Office Space on someone, know that is ok too. You’re young enough to switch jobs and do something you’re passionate about even if it doesn’t pay the big bucks. So take a little risk and learn more about yourself. Just make sure when you do take the time for yourself you do it because you want to and you work to find out more about what you’re truly passionate about.

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