Photo by sofia lyu on Unsplash

Trying to not lose hope as a Millennial

Everywhere we look these days, things seem dire. But maybe we shouldn’t loose hope, at least we should try.

We get bombarded with information constantly and because positive news just doesn’t sell, most of it will either be negative news or ads. It’s hard to catch a break in the constant stream of content and not have FOMO (fear of missing out).

I have experienced the same and in recent years it has increasingly skewed my worldview into more and more cynical and negative direction. Our and the next generation face some very though challenges that seem improbable to be solved or even made a difference towards by a single person. Things like

• Climate change | Global extinction of other species
• Homelessness | Increasing rent without increasing pay
• Political challenges
• etc.

And they all have headlines, that I’m sure you’ve read, that don’t fuel you with confidence that we can make an impact towards the positive. For example climate change, we often get told by many people how we “as a person” can help combat it, but then you read that just 100 companies are responsible for 71% of global emissions and instantly you feel like you can’t make a any difference whatsoever. And no, in my honest opinion, changing your lifestyle to the extreme won’t solve it, but some things like eating less meat or buying less or more economical will make a positive impact, although be it very very small.

But let me put a little bit of hope into your minds here, most Millennials as well as GenZ and maybe even some of the older generation are painfully aware that climate change might be the biggest single threat we face in the coming decades.
Slowly but surely positions in governments and companies will be filled by more and more of those people that know and recognise it, and can take action.

I choose to believe that with the power slowly changing hands into the new generations we can get a handle on this, somehow.

I also would like to think that the internet plays a huge role in giving educational tools to so many more people, and spawning so many more ideas that are now easier than ever to execute and troubleshoot that some good will come out of this.

We have yet to see what positive impact it can have to give such a powerful tool to most people on the planet, and I hope we are all here to see the benefits of that.

So what has made me change my so cynical worldview that I mentioned earlier? Many things, I think the biggest thing for me was to just try and think about it rationally in a sense. And also watching / listening to some things that provoked me to think differently about stuff. (linked on the bottom of the article).

We all have limited time on this earth, and everyone of us faces it’s own battles and then we as humanity face bigger battles together. I think it’s not in the best interest of one self to give up and accept things are just shit.

Yes we might not have the answer to everything (yet) and yes the problems might seem overwhelming, like how are we gonna solve all of them?

But take a look around, and take a look at what we already achieved and what we are continuously changing. We have made it so mental health is taken more seriously in lots of environments, we have educated ourself and take power slowly back from employers who want slaves not workers, we have pushed for a more open approach in companies and have followed that up with companies we founded that are transparent or even open source. We try to better and take care of our surroundings and neighbourhoods, not just increase our own wellbeing without disregard for anyone else. I think we have done great things, and I can not wait to see what else we will do in the future and how we will build it.

Photo by Ross Findon on Unsplash

Here are some things I watched / heard / read that helped me get out of this pure negative thinking.

A 15 min video,that accurately described how I felt in certain times.
Simon Sinek — The Millennial Question

A news website that only deals with positive news, instead of all the negativity. It helps to take a look here from time to time.
Positive News

Just recently discovered this podcast, short (mostly less than 10 min) Episodes that talk about good stuff that happened that day.
Goodnews Podcast

Read. I have started reading again recently, articles and books. Just having more understanding also helped me change how I think.
Currently reading: Range | How generalists Triumph in a specialised world

What do you think about all of this, did you feel as cynical as me or maybe you still do? Let me know, you can also always reach out to me.