Meet Lucy.
Lucy belongs to Generation Y, those born between the late 1970s and the mid-1990s. She is part of the yuppie culture that represents a significant portion of Gen Y.
For yuppies in the Gen Y age group, I coined the term Gen Y Protagonists & Special Yuppies, or GYPSYs. A GYPSY is a distinctive type of yuppie who sees themselves as the main character in a unique story.
Lucy is relishing her GYPSY existence but encounters a notable issue:
Despite her GYPSY lifestyle, Lucy is somewhat dissatisfied.
To delve into the reasons behind this unhappiness, we first need to understand what fosters happiness or unhappiness. It boils down to a simple equation:
The concept is clear – happiness stems from reality surpassing expectations while unhappiness results when reality falls short of expectations.
To provide some context, let’s involve Lucy’s parents in the conversation:
Lucy’s parents, born in the 1950s as Baby Boomers, were raised by Lucy’s grandparents, part of the G.I. Generation – “the Greatest Generation,” who endured the Great Depression and World War II and were nowhere close to being GYPSYs.
Lucy’s Depression Era grandparents valued economic security and steered her parents toward constructing stable, practical careers. They aspired for their children’s careers to be more successful than their own, instilling in Lucy’s parents the vision of a prosperous and secure professional life, much like this:
They were taught that achieving a thriving career akin to a lush, green lawn was attainable, albeit requiring years of dedicated effort.
Transitioning from their hippie phase, Lucy’s parents embarked on their professional journeys. With the economic boom of the 70s, 80s, and 90s, the world witnessed unprecedented prosperity. Lucy’s parents exceeded their expectations, fostering a sense of contentment and optimism.
Having a more favorable life journey than their parents, Lucy’s parents instilled in her a belief in optimism and boundless potential. This encouragement was widespread among Baby Boomers, empowering their Gen Y offspring with the notion that they could achieve anything, embedding a special protagonist identity deeply within their minds.
This optimism led GYPSYs to harbor significant expectations about their careers, surpassing their parents’ aspirations of a secure, prosperous future. For GYPSYs, a fulfilling career yard not only has economic prosperity but also flowers blooming.
From this emerges the first characteristic of GYPSYs:
GYPSYs Are Highly Ambitious
For a GYPSY, a lush lawn of prosperity and security isn’t sufficient. They aspire for a career that’s exceptional and personal. While Baby Boomers aimed for the American Dream, GYPSYs seek Their Own Personal Dream.
Cal Newport points out the shift from “follow your passion” to “a fulfilling career” as per Google’s Ngram viewer, suggesting the changing career perspectives over the last two decades. GYPSYs aim for both economic success and career fulfillment on a level that their parents didn’t prioritize as much.
Certainly, GYPSYs desire economic prosperity like their parents did, but they also crave a career that brings personal fulfillment, a dimension their parents didn’t emphasize as strongly.
However, there’s another layer to this story. While the career aspirations of Gen Y have become more distinct and ambitious, Lucy receives another message during her upbringing:
Now, we introduce the second truth about GYPSYs:
GYPSYs Are Idealistic
“Certainly,” Lucy has been taught, “everyone aims for a fulfilling career, but I am particularly extraordinary, and hence, my career and life path will shine exceptionally among the rest.” So apart from the generational goal of a flowery career lawn, each individual GYPSY believes they are destined for something even more remarkable—
A splendid unicorn adorning the flowery lawn.
But why is this notion delusional? Since all GYPSYs harbor this belief, it contradicts the essence of “special”:
spe-cial| ‘speSHel |
adjective
better, greater, or otherwise different from what is usual.
As per this definition, most individuals aren’t special — otherwise, “special” loses its meaning.
At this moment, GYPSYs reading this are likely thinking, “Valid point…but I genuinely am one of those special few”—and herein lies the issue.
Upon entering the job market, GYPSYs encounter a secondary delusion. While Lucy’s parents anticipated that dedicated effort over many years would lead to a successful career, Lucy, considering herself exceptional, views a great career as a given for someone of her caliber, merely a matter of time and choice. Her pre-employment anticipations resemble this:
Regrettably, the world proves to be less accommodating than expected, and careers turn out to be more challenging than perceived. Building a remarkable career demands years of unwavering effort and sacrifice — even the most accomplished individuals typically don’t achieve extraordinary feats in their early or mid-20s.
However, GYPSYs aren’t inclined to accept this reality outright.
Research by Paul Harvey, a GYPSY expert from the University of New Hampshire, reveals that Gen Y possesses “unrealistic expectations and a strong aversion to negative feedback,” coupled with “an inflated self-view.” He notes that entitlement issues arise from unmet expectations, where individuals expect respect and rewards exceeding their actual contributions due to an exaggerated sense of capability.”/p>
For employers hiring Gen Y members, Harvey recommends posing the question, “Do you believe you are generally superior to your coworkers/classmates/etc., and if so, why?” He suggests that if the candidate acknowledges superiority but falters in explaining why, entitlement may be an issue, stemming from baseless beliefs of superiority and entitlement. These misconceptions often arise from excessive self-esteem boosting activities during their formative years, leading them to harbor misguided thoughts of specialness without valid justification.>/p>
Following college, Lucy, spurred by intense ambition and overconfidence rooted in a skewed self-image, faces enormous expectations in the initial years of her career. The reality falls short of these inflated expectations, yielding a negative score on her “reality – expectations” happiness scale./p>
Adding to her predicament is a shared challenge among GYPSYs:
GYPSYs Are Provoked
Lucy’s parents may have seen individuals from their high school or college classes excel more than themselves. However, they lacked detailed information about others’ careers beyond general knowledge.>/p>
Lucy, on the other hand, grapples with a modern phenomenon: Facebook Image Crafting./p>
On social media, Lucy observes A) the public display of others’ activities, B) inflated self-presentation by many, and C) a tendency for those doing well to flaunt their achievements, while struggling individuals maintain a low profile. This creates a false impression for Lucy that everyone else is flourishing, exacerbating her sense of discontent:/p>
Ergo, Lucy feels unhappy, experiencing a sense of inadequacy and frustration. Although she likely commences her career adequately, she feels notably underwhelmed.>/p>
Here’s advice for Lucy:/p>
1) Nurture bold ambition. The current landscape offers ample opportunities for ambitious individuals to achieve flourishing, fulfilling success. Although the path may seem unclear, taking the plunge will lead to eventual clarity./p>
2) Discard the self-perception of specialness. Presently, you are not exceptional. You are merely another inexperienced individual with limited offerings. Genuine exceptionalness is attained through persistent, laborious effort over time./p>
3) Pay no heed to others. Comparing oneself to others is fruitless. In today’s curated social media sphere, others’ lives may seem impeccable, yet everyone faces uncertainties and challenges. Pursuing your path diligently removes the need for envy toward others./p>
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If you enjoyed this, explore:/p>
Why Procrastinators Procrastinate.
How to Pick Your Life Partner.
7 Ways to Be Insufferable on Facebook./p>
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