MILLENNIAL DILEMMA - Square Pegs, Round Holes

Have you ever tried walking in shoes that were too small? Or running in sneakers that don’t fit you properly? Apart from being rather uncomfortable, they greatly, not moderately, impede your progress from point A to point B, or your ability to give your best effort or performance. As someone who finds himself in the peculiar position of living in a Boomer body but powered by a Millennial mindset, sensitivity, passion, purpose and heart, I am very tuned in to the Millennial journey, the goals and aspirations they have, the can-do mindset they were conditioned to have, the culture shock they experienced upon entering the real world of independent adulthood and the challenges they face in trying to come to terms with the environment, both social and economic, into which they have been thrust. Most importantly, I recognize the massive amount of value inherent in Millennials from which the world can benefit and which Millennials are keen to give, but I see a disconnect between their value delivery potential and the “system” they’re currently obliged to operate in.

I suspect that the average Millennial is so focused on their own individual situation and challenges in everyday life, that they don’t really step back and focus on the bigger picture very often. They may complain that tuition fees are way too high and that student loan debt is onerous, or that most businesses like banks, insurance companies and others seem so backward and out of touch with what for Millennials, should be a natural way of “doing business”. From my perspective, I see this as Millennials being like square pegs, (multifaceted, having 3-dimensional depth, full of potential to build stable structures, able to “fit together” efficiently with others), but being forced to try and fit into the “ROUND HOLES” that define the elite-ordered, control-centered, entrenched social and economic status quo of the world. Millennials can’t thrive to their full potential is the today’s politically, socially and economically toxic environment; it’s like planting vegetables in a bed of hay, watering them daily with sea water and expecting the most wonderfully big and wholesome vegetables to grow.

While vegetables can’t change the environment in which they are planted, Millennials CAN change the social and economic system they operate within, not overnight, but progressive, purposeful change can definitely be forced. However, as long as the powers that be, whether governments or the business elite and their power networks succeed in keeping Millennials focused on themselves personally as individuals, divided in both thought and action, then they can preserve the old status quo. Fortunately, Millennials are hard wired to connect with one another, albeit on a relatively superficial level for the most part. However, that is still an important foundation upon which they can build, a platform for the emergence of a social movement, a social revolution of global magnitude, not focused on social unrest and strife, but one focused on using their education, their intelligence, their affinity for innovation and their passion for transformative change, to harness their collective will and power to forge a new and better socioeconomic reality for their generation. Their current high-density social but superficial interaction, is like “marine training”, critical preparation honing their skills for when the time comes to motivate and mobilize themselves by the millions.

Purposefully creating a new and better economic reality for Millennials, may seem like an extremely difficult and daunting undertaking to the average Millennial, but that is when they need to call upon the mantra they grew up hearing, that they can be anything and do anything they want to be and do… and that they have only to chart a course and resolutely pursue it. That attitude is critical, but the course charted, is even more so. For there must be a unified vision and understanding of what that course is, where it leads to, and how it will make things considerably better. Creating such a course and movement for Millennials, seems not to have been an inspiration manifested in any Millennials so far, as the most vocal and active Millennials have simply been protesting inequalities and burdensome systems that impact the generation negatively, rather than espousing a clear and compelling vision for building a new system, as opposed to merely “patching up” the ills of the current old one.

While I am not a Millennial by strict age definition, I have found myself impregnated with a powerful vision and “course” for the Millennial generation, one which has the potential to allow them to collaboratively build a new and better environment, within which they can more ably pursue their dreams, goals and aspirations. The question is, however, will Millennials be open to a Millennial upliftment and empowerment vision conceived and presented by someone who is not a Millennial? That remains to be seen. I am confident, however, that the potency of the vision and the efficacy of the accompanying plan, will be found compelling enough by Millennials all across the globe, such that they would be highly motivated to get deeply involved in both working toward the objectives of the plan and widely sharing the plan with their Millennials friends and colleagues at every turn.