According to Forbes, Gen-Z is a purpose-driven generation. According to Forbes, Gen-Z knows what they want and is likely to seek out new opportunities to get it. According to Handshake, Gen-Z is passionate about making a difference and wants to work somewhere they feel has a broader mission and purpose that aligns with their values. As motivating as that sounds, the truth is none of us knows what we want to become. We are just living life on the terms of life, moving as the waves and tides of life push us by. It’s sad but true. All we know is we want a good life, but we are lost on how to actualize such a life. The reality is that we are all lost, and a better reality is that it’s a good thing.
Imagine a life where we knew everything. Imagine a life where we controlled everything. Imagine a life where we could predict the future. Imagine a life where we could do anything. What is interesting about such a life? What is the essence of such a life? Is that life worth living? Simply put, it’s not. Why? A study at Baylor College and Emory University shows that most people love surprises; it proves why humans crave the unexpected. Omnipotence and omniscience can never coexist with surprises. In other words, humans crave uncertainty but are also scared of uncertainty. Uncertainty is life’s very own surprises, that which gives life to life. By embracing uncertainty, we unlock opportunities and move forward in life.
On the topic of uncertainty, Claudio Palazzi, a USM graduate student, embraced uncertainty when he moved from Italy to the USA.
“You never know where your next job will be,” Palazzi said. “I wanted to be a musician, but you never know where life will take you. I’m in the Flute Performance Orchestra in USM, which is a great path because you don’t know where it’ll take you.”
Therefore, it’s a good thing that “28% of 25-33-year-olds know that their dream job is but are unsure how to approach a career move” (LinkedIn). It’s a good thing to be lost; it’s not okay to be stagnant. The more stagnant we are, the more anxious we become.
To accommodate for this “lost” state, gratitude is a must. Privilege is invisible to those who have it. It is great to recognize that life is a privilege in itself. In humble gratitude, adversity comes in proximity to prosperity. As we become cognizant of how lost we are, embracing such gratitude puts us in the right state of mind to fully move ahead of our stagnancies. Gratitude is the foundation of a movement. We have life. We have breath. The cognizance of these privileges reminds us that we can move. The more we love, the less stagnant we become and the less lost we become.
Author Robert Greene once said, “The need for certainty is the greatest disease the mind faces.” Certainty doesn’t exist, and neither does perfection. A huge part of embracing uncertainty is embracing and focusing on what we can control. Tomorrows are made of todays. To avoid stagnancy, we must take advantage of now – what we can control – to become more certain tomorrow. The more present we are, the less uncertain we become.
We’re all lost, mate. We’re all at different levels of uncertainty. We’re evolving. We’re metamorphosing. We’re growing. We’ll keep evolving. We’ll keep metamorphosing. We’ll keep growing. We’ll keep figuring it out. We’ll never figure it out. That’s okay. It’s just not okay to be stagnant.