One of the things that surprised me about getting older, is how *absolute* young people are about their opinions. I mean, older I get, the LESS certain I am, about most things.
I definitely have a better understanding of what serves for me when it comes to my habits and methods (professionally), and am aware of intentional patterns of thought that are either constructive or maladaptive (personally), and I obviously have more life experience to draw from when making decisions (in both domains) but, even though I’ve collected more support for strongly held convictions, I’ve also maintained a sense of conservatism that I may not be 100% right, about most things in the world.
Does this resonate with any other mid-lifers out there? I don’t mean to sound like I’m making a “kids these days, amirite?” style of complaint. But, damn, when I see what’s expressed on social media, it makes me want to shake them and say, “You’re young. You don’t know anything, yet! Have some fucking humility.”
Of course, I’m sure I thought I knew everything when I was younger, too. I’m sure I was a pain the ass for many “grownups.” But I’m also pretty sure I wasn’t screaming in all caps at people, or crassly attacking anyone for pointing out my mistakes. I dunno. Maybe the anonymity of the Internet makes throwing tantrums through a keyboard socially acceptable, somehow — because trolling and shitposting became a fun pastime, because having an opinion (and sharing it emphatically and with 100% certainty) about literally everything became the default.
Just sayin’. The world (life, itself) is far more complex than some of these 20-somethings seem to recognize.
