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Gen Z must live life with intention
Living with intention is not complex, but it does give you hope
- PUBLISHED: Fri 13 Dec 2024, 5:13 AM
As with all things I have written here and elsewhere, I am limited to what I see and think to pursue for my journalism and this column.
That being said, I have seen a marked shift in Generation-Z over the past month, in a shift that favours the globalised nature of our generation and the psychological relief that comes with an intentional life.
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Living with intention is not complex. You pick a goal - a dream, vision, or cause - and every action you take, from what you buy at the grocery store to how you address your waiter to the very nature of your work and the language you use, should be built around that goal.
For some, this goal is simple, to own a house or thrive in a dream career, have enough money to never have to worry about finances again, or to simply lead a quiet life of content familial domesticity.
All are admirable goals, and with this wind of change in our generation I see these goals are attainable, rooted in happiness and life's simple pleasures.
There is another side to intentionality though, the side that I find myself on but granting me the same psychological relief - the knowledge that my intentions and actions are not causing the woes of genocide, apartheid, and displacement, and that the actions I am undertaking serve a greater goal.
A healthy news diet
For me, it's my very personal relationship to the almighty and Star Trek levels of utopian idealism that get me through the day. Therapy and a healthier news diet have allowed me to start a process of dissecting the actual events and themes that I find myself gravitating towards, then intentionally cutting myself off from those problem areas.
My issue was intention in the wrong direction, the idea that, robbed of the tools of change, I forced myself to watch and absorb the ills of the world through social media as recompense for my inability to do anything about the violence, pain, and suffering.
It was like staring into the sun because others were already blind.
Indulging in the things I value most - education, empathy, and honesty - has granted me an awareness of the world that I would never give up. Knowing a little bit about the ongoing conflicts of the world, and a lot about a few in particular and how they're all interrelated, adds a dimension to my life that leaves me frustrated most days.
Intentionality allows me to completely evade that frustration for days, sometimes weeks at a time, even while the news is awful, and the world seems to be on fire. The power players, guided by greed, fear, or wrath, are to blame, not those of us who have been deprived of the ability to make change and are entirely aware what is being done and who is to blame.
Intentionality offers hope, that if I think this way, others must have done before and must now, and they will when I'm dead.
Again, the world is crashing down on the Middle East with its unbaked takes on what is happening in Syria, and no one is saying anything with intention. The only intention I've seen is coming from displaced Syrians on social media with as much optimism as wariness.
Choosing a vision to govern you will not be a foreign concept if you are as intentional in selecting it and the benchmarks you must reach before it. And for Gen-Z, when the struggle is so much about the basics, we can dare to aim higher.
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