Millennials, don’t be so harsh on yourself
As the world continues to evolve at a breakneck speed, its inhabitants are facing a multitude of pressures. There is an unspoken pressure to always look immaculately turned out. Then there is the pressure of maintaining a buzzing social life that can make the neighbours green with envy and set your Facebook page on fire. As if this wasn’t enough, there is also the pressure of climbing the professional ladder at a supersonic speed, and being one up on your buddies.
It won’t be wrong to say that we, the millennials, are perennially suffering from the “fear of missing out”, popularly abbreviated by us as FOMO. While struggling to be the perfect parent, an ideal host, an impeccable worker and a faultless personality, we feel the daunting need to be omnipresent as well. There is an unspoken burden of capturing and putting up ‘happy moments, emotion and food’ on display. As if Facebook posts weren’t enough, now we have to tweet as well, especially when it comes to parading our opinions.
The need to maintain a glistening image despite crumbling from within is immense. There is no room for any weakness. Alright, you may allow yourself to feel insecure and less than perfect in private, but there is no way on earth that you can let anyone outside know about it.
Innocence, naivety, generosity seem to have become qualities most obsolete. Being shrewd, calculative and manipulative is appreciated. It is even tagged as the need of the hour!
Sooner or later, this mindnumbing pressure takes a toll on us. After all, how much can the human mind battle against the fear of being left behind? How does one quantify how much to ‘smartly’ invest in a relationship? How does one walk the fine line between being spontaneous and calculative? How much can you run the race of mindless success? How much can you prepare yourself for the unknown?
No wonder, we are a generation that generously uses words like ‘depression’ and ‘anxiety’ in our everyday conversation. It is a welcome step though, that the world is finally waking up to the need of addressing emotional and mental issues. There is an unusual relief in venting out to a stranger. There is a vast body of research in the field of psychology that proves the merits of counselling. It suggests that a good counsellor can help individuals in coming out of depression besides helping them lead more well-rounded and emotionally fulfilling lives. After all, we are what we think.
Nevertheless, the simpleton in me often wonders if we ourselves are to blame for the current state of affairs. Who has rendered innocence outdated? Who has decided that simplicity is not cool? Who has decided that the only correct way to live is by being street smart? Since when have we started quantifying something as pure as human emotion?
We have probably started taking ourselves a tad too seriously. The human mind is naturally inclined towards structuring and organising. But maybe life is best lived without a manual. Going with the flow with a certain lack of preparedness may actually turn out to be a great preparation for living life!
INNOCENCE, NAIVETY, GENEROSITY SEEM TO HAVE BECOME QUALITIES MOST OBSOLETE. BEING SHREWD, CALCULATIVE AND MANIPULATIVE IS APPRECIATED. IT IS EVEN TAGGED AS THE NEED OF THE HOUR!