Any day you can search the Internet for “Millennials” and you will find a theme in articles. Millennials are “entitled,” “lazy,” or “unable to handle themselves in the real world.”
As a generation of these young people with “helicopter parents” struggles to grow up, Alexander Myles offers advice to navigate the post-college job market.
“College is a time of developing yourself,” says Myles, who works with high school and college-age students who look forward to leading successful careers after graduation. “It can be a challenge for students who had parents hovering over them. Sometimes students know it, and sometimes students aren’t aware of it, and they just grow up with it as the norm.”
Many of the so-called “negative attributes” of Millennials are character traits. Since the early 2000s, educational movements such as “No Child Left Behind” have placed an increasing amount of emphasis on academic achievement, in efforts to compete with other countries. In 2014, the United States placed 18th in the world in terms of education systems, despite superior financial resources that can be funneled into education.
In schools all over the United States, non-academic classes are being cut in favor of academic based curriculum such as language arts, science, math, and social studies. Other enrichment classes such as art, physical education and music are being reduced or even eliminated.
An example is in Orange County, FL where most schools have either minimized or outright cancelled recess in schools.
It is in these classes, however, that many of the character traits are formed. Interaction between children happens in these non-academic settings, such as school recess, that teach children how to speak to one another, solve conflicts on their own, and build relationships.
Myles recognizes that many of the challenges start early on in a child’s development. “With technology, young people want a push button solution. But most of the time, that’s not possible. We’re used to the Internet and if a page doesn’t load within two seconds, we get mad.”
However, Myles also believes that even at college age, it isn’t too late to develop these skills. He offers four tips for college students to develop these traits:
- Take ownership: understand who you are and take responsibility for yourself.
- Change your attitude: everything going into your life that you focus on, that is what you’re going to become. If you focus on the negative, you will get that. If you focus on your goals, you will get those.
- Get rid of distractions: Facebook is a great communication tool, however 95% of people use it as a distraction instead of doing what they need to do. Eliminate these and you’ll free up time to get what you need done.
- Take action: you have to take action on what you know and what you’ve learned. If you just know what to do and do nothing with it, it is useless.
“Ultimately, you are responsible for your own life,” says Myles. “No one is going to save your ship, except yourself.”
Alexander Myles is the author of “101 Quotes That Will Change Your Life Today: A Collection of Inspiration Throughout the Years.” He is also a professional speaker who uses magic to engage his audience and transform their lives in an energetic way. For more information, visit: http://www.alexandermyles.com.
