Thinker Thoughts: Millennial Wellness

It’s been a busy summer, but we’re excited to be back and grateful for all your support and emails as ATG continues to evolve! 
This week’s Thinker Thoughts comes from an article in the August 2017 issue of Allure magazine entitled, “Millennials Are Obsessed With Health, Which May Have a Downside“, written by Molly Young:

 

“’The millennial personality is centered around individualism, high expectations, self-confidence, burnishing an image,’ says Jean M. Twenge, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University and the author of Generation Me, a scholarly look at the 23- to 37-year-old set. Sounds good on the surface, right? But a total lack of irresponsibility may not be the straight path to success that it sounds like. For all of modern history, youth has been a time period designated specifically for screwing up. We have a whole vocabulary of phrases devoted to the concept: ‘youthful indiscretions,’ ‘growing pains,’ ‘sowing wild oats.’ Today we’re more likely to soak our wild oats overnight and sprinkle them with goji berries than to sow them…

This risk aversion leads to unquestionably good behaviors, yes, but also to ones that older generations might see as oddly conservative or limiting. The point of making mistakes, after all, is that you learn from them. You become a more complicated and empathetic person, a person whose imperfections and blunders give way to a nuanced perspective on all the facets of living.”

Keep thinking with our previous Thinker Thoughts on:
iGen
ethical principles
social media behavior
likability vs. status
civil discourse
homo prospectus
names and identities
lifelong learners
star sanctuaries
artificial intelligence
the intellectual life
learning from early humans
and the importance of generosity of spirit
“Thinker Thoughts” is an initiative intended to help us THINK more deeply and deliberately amid the hurried pace of life’s existence. Every Friday, we’re posting our “Thinker Thoughts”, a short quote to reflect on from a recent commentary. Give it a think and let us know your thinker thoughts!

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