8 Life Lessons Gen X & Boomers Learned The Hard Way That Gen Z Usually Avoids Altogether
George Dolgikh | Pexels With a figure it out mentality and some good old fashioned resilience, there are some lessons Gen X and boomers learned the hard way that Gen Z seems to pretty much avoid today.
Because we live in a comfort-centric society, more and more young people are getting used to putting ease before the discomfort that helps us grow as people.
Gen X and boomers learned these life lessons the hard way, while Gen Z avoids them:
1. Boredom isn't a bad thing
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Gen X kids spent the majority of their childhoods alone, so it's not surprising that they got comfortable with boredom quickly. Many even learned the hard lesson of filling that free time themselves, without a phone or a parent willing to entertain them.
With a million options for stimulation and entertainment today, younger generations are a lot less comfortable with stillness and boredom. In fact, some are never bored, usually at the expense of their own well-being.
2. Hard conversations need to be face-to-face
Many young people aren't comfortable answering the phone, let alone practicing social skills by having hard conversations in public. Growing up behind a screen became a coping mechanism because it's easier to deal with discomfort with your phone as a buffer.
But older generations had no choice but to learn how to deal with social anxiety early in their lives. Apologizing and speaking their minds face-to-face was the only thing they could do.
3. You have to be someone you can rely on
Gen Zers who grew up with gentle parents or had access to all kinds of distractions on their phones are hard-wired to expect things from others. It's a distraction from their feelings, so growing secure in themselves is even more of a challenge today.
That's part of why so many are struggling with anxiety and mental health, because they're trying to control everything about their lives, instead of being someone they can rely on.
Older generations, on the other hand, were taught to figure things out themselves and develop self-reliance early in life. They became the kind of adults they could depend on, whether it was to solve a practical problem or show up for themselves when things got tough.
4. You can't dodge accountability
Gen Xers learned early on to take accountability, because they grew up with parents and within institutions where discipline was nonnegotiable. If you didn't do your homework or chores, or apologize when you hurt someone's feelings, there was no getting out of it.
It will always catch up to you, maybe in losing a relationship or feeling a lack of control over the direction of your life. You just can't blame everyone or everything else for your problems and expect anything to change.
5. You don't need motivation to take action
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Even when it's uncomfortable and difficult, taking action predicts momentum and motivation, not the other way around. When comfort is top of mind, as it is for many young people, it's easy to avoid action and wait around for motivation to strike.
But older generations learned a very different life lesson. To them, struggle was somewhat of an opportunity.
Working on something hard and figuring it out themselves were obligations. They learned by doing, rather than waiting for things to fall into their laps or happen overnight.
6. Daily life isn't always glamorous
Older generations have adopted a "struggle now, enjoy later" mentality, whether it's financially or in their daily routines. They learned quickly that adulthood is rarely the happy, glamorous existence that they dreamed about as kids.
That doesn't stop young people from trying, though. By investing in small luxuries and micro-experiences, they romanticize daily life, putting a lot of time and money into creating a life they can enjoy now, instead of sacrificing for later.
Surely there's a happy medium between living for the future in an unglamorous life and enjoying the present moment.
7. Your job doesn't need to be meaningful
Despite being a pragmatic generation, many young people care about having a career that gives them purpose. On top of working for companies that align with their values, they want to feel a sense of meaning, whether that's related to advocacy or identity.
But with traditional provider roles and life milestones on their plate, older generations had to learn quickly that not every job would be meaningful. The greatest meaning was the paycheck or the ability to pay their bills, rather than something that made them excited to get out of bed every day.
They learned this lesson the hard way, trying to maintain company loyalty. But it's something few Gen Zers today are willing to tolerate.
8. You occasionally have to sacrifice comfort
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While Gen Zers are pushing back on financial scarcity mindsets, where people feel pressured to sacrifice small luxuries in daily life to save for bigger investments, they're also avoidant of discomfort.
They prefer to put their own comfort and convenience first, whether it's dealing with arguments in relationships or inconveniencing themselves daily.
Older generations were raised to take pride in their struggles. Even if it meant sacrificing to save money, the life lesson that not everything will be easy all the time was burnt into their brains.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a senior editorial strategist with a bachelor's degree in social relations & policy and gender studies who focuses on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.
