Is Coasting Through Life Sustainable for a Young Adult?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the sustainability of a lifestyle characterized by aimlessness and lack of employment among young adults, specifically focusing on a 24-year-old woman who is not actively pursuing a career while relying on a friend's support. The conversation touches on themes of entitlement, personal responsibility, and the societal expectations of work and ambition.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant describes a young woman who is coasting through life without a job, relying on a friend's financial support and expressing dissatisfaction with previous employment.
  • Another participant reflects on generational differences, suggesting that parents have made it too easy for their children, leading to a lack of drive in the younger generation.
  • A participant shares their own work history, emphasizing the importance of taking on various jobs to achieve financial independence and stability.
  • Some participants express concern about a sense of entitlement among young adults, suggesting that they should face the consequences of their lifestyle choices without external support.
  • There are mentions of potential relationships where one partner supports the other financially, drawing parallels to traditional gender roles, but noting that such arrangements may not be sustainable or ideal.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views on the topic, with some agreeing on the notion of entitlement and the need for young adults to take responsibility for their lives, while others highlight the complexities of individual circumstances and relationships. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the best approach to support or challenge such lifestyles.

Contextual Notes

Participants acknowledge various assumptions about personal responsibility, societal expectations, and the impact of financial support on motivation and ambition. There is a lack of consensus on the implications of these dynamics for young adults' futures.

  • #31
Just don't enable her, but let her do her thing.

The thing about being a loser is you get sick of it eventually. I have so many things I want to do with my life that just sitting around doing nothing would drive me insane.

Don't lend/give money, but she's an adult and full capable of making her own decisions.
 
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  • #32
There's a saying that to become an expert (or at least competent) in the arts that it requires 10,000 hours of solid practice.

I'm sure most people here agree that even something not considered "artistic" (like physics, engineering, and so on, even though I consider these equally artistic) that it has taken people probably a similar amount of time to become very good in their chosen field.

I agree with the above poster(s) that have said to just let things be. You usually have to hit rock bottom in a lot of circumstances before you recover. Reality, especially harsh, is probably the biggest motivator. When people don't face reality (like for example getting free rent, food from someone else), then of course they don't have much to worry about because they haven't faced the necessary hardship to change.

It's unfortunate that it usually takes rock-bottom to wake people up, but in my experience (personal), it took just that.

To the OP, it seems like you have a good heart, but don't get emotionally swallowed by this friend of yours. I don't know you, her, or anything about your relationship with her, but I have been with similar people in the past and they can really drain you if you are not careful.
 
  • #33
blade123 said:
I have so many things I want to do with my life that just sitting around doing nothing would drive me insane.
but for some people its more like
A.A. Milne said:
There was once an old sailor my grandfather knew
Who had so many things which he wanted to do
That, whenever he thought it was time to begin,
He couldn't because of the state he was in.
 

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