CLOSER LOOK AT MILLENNIALS WHO ARE “SETTLING DOWN”
It was only today, that I took a closer look at the wallpaper on my phone which said — “Never Settle”. Give it to my leisure time, I started thinking over it quite intently. The wallpaper quite evidently was portraying “settling down” as something negative. It implied making peace with something mediocre. But is settling down really an old school notion and a thing to be shunned by us, the millennials? Or is “settling down” a meaning beyond what it means literally?
We are a generation, that had the privilege of our parents pushing us to reach for the stars. We were told to never aim low and make friends with people beyond our cousins. As we grew up, the world got smaller with phones, internet, Facebook, smartphones, WhatsApp, Instagram, and many more. We got a platform to connect more with people and not settle for relationships made with people around us. We got more opportunities to earn money, beyond our work. Freelancing, AirBnB, Couchsurfing and a lot of other opportunities gave us platforms to think beyond settling for our full time paying job. The unimaginable and endless growth of various unconventional sectors like Ecommerce gave us new dreams every day. Settling down, got new meanings frequently.
Let us look at what conventionally “settling down” is believed upon and ponder over it. The dictionary meaning implies — to sink downwards, which is in itself a negative notion for a generation that has thrived its way through a competitive world. If we look into some key statistics, the idea of “settling down” is not as despised by the millennials. According to Deloitte Millennial Survey 2017, about 65% of the millennials would prefer a permanent job rather than working freelance. 67% of them, however, prefer flexible work arrangements. This indicates to the fact that “settling down” has only undergone a reformation in its perception by the millennials.
Prominent ideas say, settling down at work implies, a well-paying job in the domain of your choice. But what we overlook is, however well-paying or exciting the job might be, it will not be good enough, if it does not have its own set of challenges. Prominent ideas say, settling down in personal life implies, getting married and at least have a plan of fixed set of children in a fixed set of years. But what we overlook is, having a new marital status and responsibilities in itself poses a new set of challenges which does not let you settle for anything less than an interesting journey!
“Settling down” is a choice made by the mind. You can very well be in the job you love and make peace with the lack of learning opportunities it provides. You can even be in a job you don’t love and pays you less, but settle down for it for the way it is contributing to your personal growth. You may have a gorgeous house in the poshest area of the city but opt to place a room or two in that house, over AirBnB, only to cater to your love for networking. You may have a stable relationship but not decide to marry, only to avoid its obligations. In this case, “settling down” for you, did not involve marriage. On the other hand, you may opt to get married to someone early on your age, only because you love the idea of exploring the journey together with them. In this case, you are getting married, but not settling down, as you have embraced conquest of building your married life, early in your life! You may choose to lead a life travelling different countries all your life and be a global citizen. In this case, you have settled down for the idea on how you want to lead your life, but opted out on the usual “settling down” ideas of owning a house in your favorite city.
As we see, the idea of settling down, differs with people and their preferences. Ponder on that idea of your work that excites you. Once you have figured out the nature of work that would always feed your soul, you are settled there. Ponder over the idea of that someone, who will always complement your already perfect life and make you feel like sharing every beautiful moment with them. Once you have figured it out, you are settled there, and the next steps would to be to only, to not to compromise on anything less! Thus, settling down, contrary to its dictionary meaning, is not to sink; but to finally come into terms with what adds to more of you and your choices. What adds to the best of you, can never be any less exciting and will never cease to be challenging.
To summarize, for millennials, settling down, implies to make a choice and to figure out what works best for them. In the era of globalization, IOTs and Tinder and many other options for every walk of life, it is crucial, to know what fits us the best. Gone are the times, when the generations had to only deal with minimal dilemma, be it work or relationships, which is why, settling down, back then, looked more like a “no effort”. Today, to settle, is to have that clarity and the rigor to work towards it, thereafter.
To settle is to understand your passion the best, because once you do that, you are indeed settled, and work or relationships, flow the way you want to!
