I came across this gem of an article in The Huffington Post about the millennial generation and how we can thrive instead of just live. The author, Diane Primo, focuses on Arianna Huffington’s talk at a Chicago benefit event about her new book, Thrive. Huffington discusses how to go above and beyond acquiring money and power in order to “thrive” in our careers and in our lives. How Do We Get Millennials to Thrive? is an interesting question Primo poses in this article, and she backs up her question with statistics that millennials “consume lots of content and rarely power off,” which, I think, is true. We are the first generation to be completely and utterly surrounded by technology–I use technology every day to do my job, read the news, talk to my friends and family, and even relax at home. I can honestly say that I wouldn’t know what to do without my smartphone, but I have thought about how to depend on it less.
Eventually, Primo gets to the point of her article and states that everyone around the world, and most especially millennials, would benefit from unplugging for one, uninterrupted hour. I’ve thought about this a lot lately and though I have some reservations about the whole thing (it seems so very commercialized…and just one more thing we talk about on social media!), I do think it’s important to unplug in order to, for lack of a better term, find your center, and I would go so far as to suggest doing it for 30-60 minutes a day. Why is it important to do this? For me, it means being able to turn off distractions and get comfortable inside my own head. I can think quietly about my day and what was most important to me. Maybe it’s unfair for me to suggest this for everybody because I’m an introvert–I like to have time to myself without beeping phones or blinking lights–and I know not everyone craves that type of silence (or at least, not that often). But I’ve long thought that millennials could benefit from some serious quiet time in order to train ourselves to think. We are bombarded with information all day, everyday–so do we know what we, as individuals, think or feel about a particular issue? When was the last time you took the time to sit down and truly think about your life and its direction, what you like and dislike, what your priorities are? To be honest, I started doing that more frequently when I began contributing to this blog. Thinking about topics to engage readers made me truly evaluate my own beliefs and emotions.
According to various blogs, websites, and the internet at large, millennials are supposed to be selfish, narcissistic, and married to our smart phones and tablets. Since I am a millennial myself (and, consequently, know other very intelligent millennials), I refuse to let the internet define me. I know I’ve been working to better myself for my career as well as for my personal life, and when people get to know me they see who I truly am.
What do my fellow millennials (or anybody!) have to say? How do you thrive?
Check out these other posts that discuss millennials:
1. Are Millennials Really More Narcissistic?
2. Generation Y Redefines Success
Angela
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MaryKate
Unveil Your Brilliance 
You are a fine representative of the best qualities offered by the millennial generation. I am happy to learn that writing this blog has been cathartic for you. I think it is safe to say that I at least once a week I go hours without even knowing where my phone is, exactly. This is usually because I’m busy with the kids. Usually, it means playing catch up when I do get back to my phone or computer. Until I had my own business, I resisted cell phones and somehow still survived.
You’re making me blush! I do think a lot of people experience varying degrees of addiction to technology, and it’s very important to try and move away from it whenever we can in order to combat that.
Great take on what it means to thrive in today’s society and the use of technology. I also think millennials are the most connected and entrepreneurial generation and, with less distraction, we can harness their creativity to improve society. I commend you for taking a stance to Tech It Off to improve your personal and professional life. I understand why you may think this idea may sometimes be too commercialized but I assure you that we just want to reach the masses to promote a healthier lifestyle for millennials and spark the minds of our younger generations.
Thank you for your comment, Diane! I understand where you are coming from with Tech It Off–how else will people know about this type of movement without getting the word out online? I do think it would help millennials greatly because, as you say, we could improve society with less distraction.