Purpose within a (cross) generation

Generation Interpreter

People like me, born between 1977 and 1985, are not Generation X neither Millennials.

I believe we are a very lucky generation despite what the majority of us had to say about.

What the web tell about Generation X: Gen.X is independent, resourceful, and self-sufficient. They value freedom and responsibility in the workplace. Many in this generation display a casual disdain for authority and structured work hours.

What I believe is GenX: people that had the opportunity to see the past, leave the moment and believe in the future (no excuses for that).

What the web say about Millennials: Nurtured and pampered by parents who didn't want to make the mistakes of the previous generation, millennials are confident, ambitious, and achievement-oriented. They also have high expectations of their employers, tend to seek new challenges at work, and aren't afraid to question authority. 

What I believe Millennials are: people gifted by two ways to interact with the world. They can be physical and virtual. They can see the future but they don’t imagine the past.

This micro-generation, called Xennials, should start thrive and embrace the strongest talent we have: we are in fact interpreter between this two worlds, and perhaps even a third one: GenerationZ.

Do we feel we have this power and this, above all, important responsibility to the World and not much time ahead to make an impact? Or we rather commiserate ourselves because the one before us took everything and the one after us are doing the same?

Well I believe we need to start thinking that being in the transition side of a generation is an opportunity.

I am Italian, my country always struggled with the generation passages, this is not our very first time. Actually we are still stuck on envying and judging the baby boomers. But this is not a national problem (although we probably have the most complex situation among EUCountries on this field).

This urge to find a Purpose belongs also to Generations. We have to accept to be what we are and try to do what we are supposed to: help the past feed the future by recognizing the past as an immense resource of experiences, failures, good stuff, bad stuff and unrepeatable moments.

And of course let the past continue to live, with the previous help of new generations that can teach them understanding this new sense of informality and directness strictly connected with the digital system and all technologies, but also the rapidity of all processes and the feeling part of a Global World.

About the author: As Companies and people are urged to contribute to Society more than ever these days, I created my own blueprint and methodology to identify, understand and effectively communicate Purpose, both for individuals and organizations, thus hoping to give my personal contribution to their place in Society and on the planet.