Make a difference. As a member of Generation Y, the latest working class in society – I’ve been noticing several patterns around work ethics that resonate with many members of this group. One of the more important themes is, work life balance – ensuring that what we are doing is fulfilling, allows us the ability to discover ourselves & make a difference.
Need to grow. With what limited time we have in the workplace, it is of sincere importance to find a place that fosters the ability to use the skills a gen Y possesses as well as gives him/her the ability to enhance them. Once that need is satisfied and a new interest is peaked, it is very normal for a generation y to consider his/her need for growth and impact on the final outcome over the need to be loyal. Which in turn causes strife amongst other previous working generations who see this behavior as spoiled & undeserving entitlement – how can they consider switching jobs when the economy is in the dumps? Because those of generation Y don’t see their jobs as the purpose in life – it is a work to live philosophy vs. the one that lives to work.
Entitled or Ambitious? I don’t think we are entitled, I think we are ambitious. There is so much we want to do, so much we want to challenge ourselves with and know that there is only so much time to do so before we are entrenched in a multitude of obligations. Those within the generation Y group are thinkers, innovators, doers (‘I want to do that, so I’m going to do it’) & inventers – with more entrepreneurial spirits than any other previous generations – I can only hope that we continue to foster these characteristics in hopes of continued societal advancement.
Are you living to work or working to live? What are your life goals & are you on track?
Tags: ambitious, balance, entitlement, Generation Y, Life, work
Often, we have to be reminded that life is an uncertainty guaranteed by death and taxes, and sometimes it takes a tragic turn of events to realize that perhaps the current course that you are taking in life isn’t what you hoped it would be. The experience in the last few months of my life can be likened to that of a windtunnel, where moments pass you by and before you know it, you’re at the end of the tunnel with memories no more than flashes of instances in time not worth remembering. Living in this “fast paced” generation, working in the technology industry, starting a new career and being recently single certainly didn’t help the cause of complacency and self absorption. Once you are comfortable with what are you are doing, it is so easy to become caught up in the routine without actually considering whether or not they are contributing to your happiness or personal fulfillment. It took monumental turn of events and time to myself to make me realize that I wasn’t living a well balanced life, doing the things that made me truly happy and felt like I would eventually burn out. But what’s truly important in life is taking the time to think to yourself (which I find that majority don’t do often enough) to assess the current situation you are in whether good or bad and make any necessary adjustments. Sometimes these adjustments are easy, sometimes they are hard – but in the end committing to them can be life altering, lest we forget, that we only have one.
So within the last few months, I have set out a plan to do complete a list of “firsts”, seek out more adventures, spend time with myself periodically and sharing them on this blog. Here are a few things so far I can cross off my list:
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First & Last Mugging & First Time in Police Car
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First Time Fishing – Caught a large mouth bass with my first cast
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First Time Camping – Algonquin Park
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First Time Camping – Walking in the Rapids
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First Time Riding a Motorcycle
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First Puppy Portfolio – Momo
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First Puppy Portfolio – Momo
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First Puppy Portfolio – My Dog Jojo
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First Puppy Portfolio- Gigi
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First Puppy Portfolio – Pomeranian
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First Flower in the Garden
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First Art Show – Volunteered
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First RibFest – Scarborough Rotary
Many times we become prisoner to our technologies, our work and our relationships – and don’t devote enough time to yourselves. In the end, we only have ourselves accountable for the decisions we make, those decisions we don’t make and for me, regretting anything is not an option. So, today’s YouTube link is not a song, but a clip for those of you who spend more time with your cell phones than you do with people (you know who you are).
Tags: balance, firsts, happiness, Life
