Complacency

Looking around me I often see people living their lives in a specific pattern, going to work, going home, falling asleep on the couch, repeat. These people get one vacation a year where they sleep on a beach somewhere and wish this was the way their life could always be. I think the Quarter-life crisis has stemmed from watching this part of American culture that appears to permeate many suburban towns. As I look around at my peers, I see how easy it is to fall into that pattern and to wake up in your mid-40s wondering where all your time has gone. Luckily for us, we now freak out in our 20s and the hope is that if we follow the below advice, that the mid-life crisis will be extinct when it comes time for our 45th birthdays. The advice that I have found to be the most helpful and that appears to be aiding Generation Y in creating a new world free from mid-life crises is:

1. Build your networks. Use linkedin, facebook, family, friends, parents friends, etc. Join groups (meetup.com, professional groups, womens groups, language groups, the list goes on).

2. Through these networks, enlist mentors to help you along your way.

3. Never stop the thought process on where you are going, where you want to be, and why you are doing what you are doing. If any of the answers to these questions are not what you envisioned for yourself, start looking for something that matches up with what you want.

4. Take risks. Don't just settle for something that is comfortable, especially when you have the luxury to take risks as someone without a mortgage and children. Even if you do have these things, it is still possible to take risks.

Most of all, I have found that the most dangerous state of mind to be avoided at all costs is COMPLACENCY. This word causes crisis whether it be 5 years after you have accepted your current state of being or 10, a midlife crisis, a quarter life crisis, it doesn't matter...crisis is still the word. Complacency stops innovation, it stops evolution, it stops change in its most heightened state. Complacency is a crime committed against yourself and against society for refusing to reach your full potential in favor of comfort. I recognize that I have now dramatized the word, but if that's what it takes to create MOTIVATION instead of automation then it is worth the drama.