Generational Support

Generational Support

 Part 1: Helping our younger generation get ahead.

When we are younger, we go through life discovering who we are and what we are about.

Our influences are our parents, family, teachers, and friends.  We find where are limits are and have many “a-ha” moments. Some good and some not so good.

While we do this we grow and mature, becoming more confident as we navigate our way in the world.

(But between 2000 – 2003 we had a pandemic, that stunted the growth among young people, socially and mentally, and slowing their maturity. Couple that with the rise through the pandemic of social media, we have a generation that are sometimes lost, misunderstood, and abused by the systems we have created.)

We see many comments on how youth of today are lazy, don’t want to work, or don’t put the effort into anything anymore.

Funnily enough, these same things have been said to generations that have come before them, including my own.

As we progress in encouraging our youth, we need to start to take the time to listen to this current crop of young people. See what their issues are and why they feel this way. Not to just brush them off and call them “whiners”.

I have found most youth today are hardworking, caring, and navigating through as best they can.

I continue to have many positive interactions with younger people and want to keep doing so.

My suggestion is that we take the time to “have their backs”, listen to their concerns, and work with them to help them see what is possible.

Mentoring is the key, as well as positivity.

 Let us show our younger people that we can help guide them through the world by showing them the tricks we learned. Exposing them to the contacts we have. Remember when we grew up – “I GOT A GUY/GAL”.

Passing on our knowledge that worked for us. Positive communication will keep them interested in moving forward.

The other thing that will help is speaking in ways they understand. Not just talking, but texting, keeping it light and being open to slow response times. (They are a busy group)

Let’s work together with them so they have a chance to succeed.

 

 Part 2: What can WE learn from our younger generation?

When I was about 62, my life changed when my wife passed and I started going through the stages of grief. I wasn’t taking care of myself physically or mentally.

It took a while to start overcoming my grief and start to move on. I went back to the gym because I remembered I had always thrived there and felt better about myself. I was overweight (250 lbs) with high blood pressure, taking 4 pills a day. I met my future business partner there, and I became her first client. (You can read about this on our site www.vitalplates.ca or our Instagram account for the video @vitalplates.ca.

I found being at the gym brought me in contact with mostly younger people and I would hear them talking about their problems and frustrations. We were just coming out of Covid and sometimes had to wear masks depending on the gov’t whims at that time. As the masking ended, there were new freedoms to get to know people and socialize. It was very interesting to hear their views on life and society as a whole.

I also noticed different “quirks”, at least in my mind, on how the younger generation were coping. Many didn’t talk on the phone but texted only, some were very shy about face-to-face interaction. Confidence was low as they had been told they had to follow the rules, no deviation!! They kept to themselves a lot of the time.

After a while, as I got to know these folks as a group, they came out of their shells a little more. Aleesha (my trainer) A.K.A. Miss Aleesha to me, was one of these people. As we trained and talked, we got to know each other, trust grew, we exchanged many dreams and ideas. (Vitalplates has come out of this)

Aleesha helped me along the path of healing from my loss. I have met many high-quality young men and women that have helped me think about things on a different plane. This continues to keep me on the road to rediscovery.

As I continue to go further in my journey, I have realized that learning is a never-ending process.  

So, is it continued discovery or re-discovery?

Most of the discoveries I have now come from my want of learning new things and adapting to the present.

If anything, it taught me is, leave the past in the past.

What have I learned? - “When we are at different stages of life, we find that the younger people have not had the same experiences as we have had, so they perceive and do things differently. (not wrong, but differently)”

A valuable lesson!!!

 

 Part 3: In Conclusion

This was an eye-opening revelation that I keep with me all the time. Also, we must remember that the youth of today are pulled in many directions and sometimes don’t have the time to slow down and smell the flowers in this “Hustle Culture”. Let’s have patience with them. Please!

This new generation has so much to give, and we should listen and learn from them.

We will try to give our “wisdom” in hopes our advice will help everyone. Aleesha and I will be sharing Wisdom Wednesdays on our Vitalplates Instagram page. Maybe folks will see the world a little differently after listening to what we have to say, maybe not. But we feel it never hurts to reach out with ideas no matter if you’re younger or older.

We are hoping Vitalplates can help bridge the generational gap as part of our wellness journey. We all have so much to give and all it takes is a little listening and understanding on both sides to make all generations work together. Let’s never stop supporting and learning from each other.

 

Thank you for listening,

Gord Rose

Please share any thoughts or ideas on our email:  info@vitalplates.ca

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