The Quarterlife Crisis?

“I don’t know what’s wrong with my daughter, but she just can’t seem to get her life going,” said Mary, age 57. “She says that times are harder, but I think she’s just lazy. When I 24 I was married and raising two children with a third one on the way.”

Are today’s quarterlifers—people in their teens, twenties and early thirties—lazy or is life harder than it was a generation or two ago? Is there really such a thing as a quarterlife crisis?

It’s a debatable topic. Believe me. I’ve heard parents yell until they were red in the face, “Yes! They’re lazy. Shoot, if anything life is easier today.” At the same time I’ve had quarterlifers tell me with tears in their eyes, “It’s just different today. My parents and grandparents don’t understand.”

Regardless of where you stand the statistics paint a concerning picture. According to university studies, web site polls and government researchers:

***More than 61 percent of college students say they plan to live with their parents after college.

***People age 18 to 25 have the highest rates of alcohol dependence and illicit drug abuse.

***Between the ages of 18 and 34, young adults receive an average of $38,000 in support from their moms and dads.

***People hold an average of 8.6 jobs between the ages of 18 and 32.

***Thirty-nine percent of student borrowers leave college with unmanageable debt.

Are these the symptoms of a national quarterlife crisis? Yes. Just like the midlife crisis is a stage that typically occurs for people in their forties and fifties who are tired of the predictability of their lives, in our teens, twenties and early thirties the opposite occurs. Instead of having predictability there is no solid foundation to stand on.

As quarterlifers (of which I’m one) once we leave the protection of home and school, we are suddenly faced with many questions: “What should I do for a living?” “Where can I find Mr. or Ms. Right?” “What is my purpose?” “Who am I?” “How can I make money?” and “What is the meaning of life?” We turn these questions over and over in our heads as we venture into the real world for the first time.

It’s not only the questions that are difficult. It’s also the sheer number of them. We’re looking for the perfect career, making new friends, choosing a place to live, searching for the right partner, contemplating a family, exploring our spirituality and questioning the meaning of it all. Unfortunately while all quarterlifers go through this, few of us talk about it openly. This feeling of being alone adds to the anxiety we face during this transition time.

It’s the same frustration, confusion and uncertainty that led a classmate of mine to commit suicide. Depressed and frustrated, he chose to end his life rather than carry on. In fact, did you know that our generation has the highest rate of suicide attempts? Recent studies linking depression to suicide found that depression has doubled among 20-year-olds over the past 13 years. When asked why, the director of one study said, “Times are more stressful, students
are faced with more pressure, more decisions, and more competition. There is more demand put on young adults today.”

Over the coming weeks we are going to look closer at the “quarterlife crisis” and its “quarterlife solutions”. I’ll share with you what I’ve learned after interviewing over 400 quarterlifers from around the United States.

Parents will find the information valuable if for no other reason than the goal of saving thousands of dollars by ensuring their child pursues an education they actually finish and use. Quarterlifers will find the articles of value because like me, we are all faced with similar questions. Through my research I discovered that it didn’t matter if I was talking with someone from New York City, NY or Newcastle, WY, every quarterlifer has the same underlying questions and concerns.

Join us in the next article where we’ll look more closely at the difference between a quarterlifer’s life today compared to forty and even twenty years ago.

Nasoj Publications, LLC All Rights Reserved 2005

Jason C. Steinle is the author of “Upload Experience: Quarterlife Solutions for Teens and Twentysomethings” which is available at www.amazon.com and www.uploadexperience.com Jason is the host of The Steinle Show talk radio and television programs in Colorado.

Popular

“Just open the Yellow Pages and it’s full of places where you and I can go to nip, tuck, tan, botox, and bleach,“ 36-year-old Amanda told me. “The irony is when I think back to the people who’ve really made an impression on my life, I don’t remember so much what they looked like, but rather how I felt when I was around them.”

Like Amanda, have you ever wondered, “Why are there certain people you just can’t wait to see or take a call from, whereas others you dodge and let their calls go straight to voice mail?”

I’ve observed that the most popular people I meet are those who are also the most generous. From the internationally known authors, musicians, and business leaders I've intervewed to our own hometown heroes, they all seem to live by the creed that you can have anything in this world you want if you just help enough other people get what they want.

Take Eleanor Riter of Evergreen. If she’s not around town taking care of children at the daycare or writing letters to friends, she may be on a mission trip to Australia, Turkey, or Mexico. Eleanor is so liked that her pastor once commented, “If the Pope and Eleanor were on stage, people may ask, ‘Who’s that man up there with Eleanor?’”

Why is Eleanor so admired? Because she is genuinely interested in other people. She shares a part of herself and her experience with each person she meets.

Recently, I asked a radio show guest the secret to his popularity and business success. “It’s an old saying,” he said, “but I’ll tell it to you, because if you figure this out quicker than slower you’re going to make a much better life.”

“You will accomplish more in the next two months developing a sincere interest in two people than you will accomplish in the next two years trying to get two people interested in you.”

“Quit selling yourself and learn how to like and help other people. You want raving fans, you become a raving fan of another person. That’s where you’ll make a difference.”

Want to make a difference and be remembered? Close the Yellow Pages and open your life to other people.

All Rights Reserved Nasoj Publications, LLC

Jason C. Steinle is a chiropractor at Health and Harmony, PC in Evergreen, CO, the host of The Steinle Show talk radio and television programs, and author of Upload Experience: Quarterlife Solutions which is available at HearthFire Books and www.amazon.com.