Unpopular opinion. An opinion that reflects on Italy, since I have only lived and worked here.
More than an "Anxious Generation," in my opinion, we are a "soft/weak/unskilled" generation. We complain constantly about everything: work, society, not earning enough.
Surely, there are many challenges and problems in the world, that's a fact. But this does not justify the continuous complaining. If we aren't immediately given what we think is right, instead of fighting for it, dedicating ourselves to a field, learning it, and becoming truly good at it, we just stand there and whine.
We have the luxury of being born in an era where, in a very short time, we can peek at and get an idea about anything. An era where ignorance is a choice, not a misfortune.
We constantly complain about salaries, but the truth is, if we are good at something, if we bring value, the money will come.
We grew up watching the generations before us, who, by doing next to nothing, with little effort, still achieved results. Perhaps the situation hasn't worsened, but rather improved, since that dynamic was not sustainable. We've all heard the story of the grandfather with a third-grade education who received a letter at home from FIAT without even having to look for a job, who became a team leader after two weeks, was having a villa built after a month, and then retired at 50 (if not 45). We envy it because it was easy, effortless, but not because it was right.
I believe that today's society is fairer, in many respects, than the one a few years ago. Certainly not perfect, far from it, but still fairer than before.
And yet, incompetence is everywhere.
Most of the time you deal with services or professionals of any kind, the chances of being satisfied are extremely low.
Most people do a shitty job. The truth is that most people want the maximum for the minimum.
How many times have we dealt with a real estate agent, an electrician, a lawyer, a programmer, and been left simply appalled by the shitty work that was done, or even by what wasn't done? For me, at least, it's almost the rule: you have to supervise and argue over practically everything; it's almost unthinkable to trust someone else's professionalism (with some exceptions and people whose competence you already know).
These are often the same people who complain every day about taxes, the government, the crisis. But the truth is, they are not good enough. They are not competent enough.
We are not talking about having to compete with the best from Harvard or at the Olympics, but simply about doing a decent, professional job. One that doesn't fall apart after two hours.
If there is competence, attention, and professionalism, results in life will come. (There will always be exceptions and unfortunate cases, but that's also how life works).
How do you achieve competence and professionalism? By studying, committing to deeply understanding a field, always remaining humble, questioning ourselves, struggling, and dedicating a lot of time to improving our skills.
As long as we continue to do things with superficiality, listlessness, and opportunism, we will get nowhere. (Here too there will always be exceptions and undeserved successes).
Let's start putting in more effort, trying to create and offer higher quality services, putting passion, commitment, and hard work into what we do. Surely every field will have its challenges: a doctor and a bartender, for example, will have different problems and difficulties to face.
Once we find a purpose, the moment we dedicate ourselves with passion to something, working on it and bringing value, life will become happier. Deep introspection and self-analysis are certainly fundamental. With more awareness and intelligence, however, I believe that peace of mind is more complicated to achieve. Tormenting ourselves with a thousand questions, especially with a quick and thoughtful mind, can easily make us feel overwhelmed. Perhaps with the IQ of a rock, one would live life more carefree, who knows.
But let's stop complaining and crying about everything. Let's choose not to be ignorant. Let's study and dedicate ourselves with passion to something we love, and the answers, the peace, (barring bad luck) will slowly arrive.
p.s. I think it's foolish to believe that hard work and passion are enough to achieve peace of mind. If you're born with an alcoholic father who beats you, with mental illness, or if at 14 you were hit by a car on a crosswalk and left paralyzed, the difficulties in life will be enormous compared to someone who has had a stable and linear path. If you have been very unlucky, this whole argument is perhaps worth a little less. In these cases, you're playing a different game. This doesn't stop you from trying to find a passion and dedicating sweat and effort to something. It will probably be more complicated.