The World I'm Living in Today isn't the Same as the One I Grew Up in
Change happens faster than I was prepared for
Not long ago, this was unthinkable for me. Being idle, doing nothing worthwhile?
I’m a millennial. I grew up in the 90s and the early 2000s. These decades shaped how I understand the world to work and my values of what’s important in life.
In my 20s and 30s I spent all my time exploring different ways to live. I wasn’t content with what I had learned life amounted to. I was convinced there must be more than this. Ever since then, I have put all my effort into challenging my worldview and my assumptions about how it all works. The world. Society. Life.
Today I’m 38 years old.
And I thought I was up to date with the world, because of all those years I’ve spent challenging what I thought I knew.
But lately (the last 2 years), I have felt that something was off.
And just a few days ago, it finally sank in. Not just intellectually, but also emotionally.
The world I’m living in today is not the same as the world I grew up in. I now realize why I’ve been struggling so much the last couple of years.
I’ve been intellectually, emotionally and spiritually stuck in a world that isn’t anymore.
That’s why I’ve felt like I’ve been treading water.
Values Characterizing the Early 2000s:
Work Ethic
I grew up with a strong work ethic. Work was the number 1 priority no matter what. Everything else was secondary. You’re always working or you’re not considered a worthy member of society. Period.
Job
Your job is a status indicator. An office job is a marker of having “made it”. Blue collar work is looked down on. Being employed means a stable income = stable life. Having the right job was prestigious and an important status marker.
University Education
You’re going nowhere without a university degree. No matter what type of degree, you’re going to university just to being able to add it to your name. If not, you’re doomed to work at McDonald’s for the rest of your life. It’s just how it is.
Work Now, Life Later
First, you work through the best years of your life. Preferably until you’re too old to properly enjoy life, approx. at 65 years. It’s only at this point you can anticipate doing what you feel like doing.
Values in 2025
I’ve always lived by some of the values that dominate today but was unpopular back then.
I didn’t accept to postpone my life until I was old. I started living immediately.
Although I was an employee, I worked part time at different companies, not wanting to put all eggs in one basket. I have never trusted one company to care for me. Not multiple companies either, but you know, spreading the risk.
What I have been struggling with is work ethic and university education.
I have worked hard all my life. Until one day when I learned that a strong work ethic wasn’t virtuous in and of itself. Rather, it was because of religious reasons. Back in the day, you couldn’t know if you were amongst the elected who were fortunate enough to enter heaven after death, but one way to increase your chances of getting there, was to work hard.
This whole idea rubbed me the wrong way. My strong belief in working hard as a way of being a good person and doing your duty slowly started to shatter over the ensuing years.
Now it’s entirely gone. And it seems this way of being is more in tune with modern life, stating that work actually can and should be fulfilling. Longer hours are not celebrated anymore - output matters more.
To my last point which I have struggled the most with accepting.
You no longer need a university education to accomplish something worthwhile.
This has been a lie for most of my life. And now suddenly, it’s true.
I’ve been struggling with realizing this for the last 2-3 years.
But the other day, it finally sank in. I finally understood.
I now feel more at ease than I’ve done for many years.
There’s nowhere to run anymore.
All the things I’ve subconsciously stressed about for most of my life evaporated in a matter of seconds.
There’s no status job to qualify for to be ‘accepted’ and ‘having made it’.
I’m free to enter a new world. A world that is much more aligned with whom I’ve always been. I can rest now, in a way that was impossible for me my entire life.