It’s no mystery that we are living a New Age. Nearly every aspect of life, from social to financial to health, has been dramatically influenced by new trends, patterns, and behaviors, many of which didn’t exist even ten years ago.
While the approach to living life has become massively varied from person to person, especially in Western society where the emphasis on individualism is greater than ever before, the basic Truths remain the same. We all want a sense of belonging, the ability to provide good lives for ourselves and our loved ones, and some kind of happiness, whatever that means to us.
I read a New York Times article recently that criticized the economy that underlies this New Age – called popularly the “gig economy.” The bulk of the article focused on the author’s view that being forced to adopt a pervasive sales mindset can cause increased anxiety and self-esteem issues, along with some particularly scathing remarks about how our value is measured in social media posts and the supposed connection to depression and suicide rates that have recently occurred.
I remember reading the article and thinking, “You know, this is actually kind of true.” I mean, being constantly on a sales offense, constantly counting one’s leads, and measuring out the pockets of one’s day by percentages and followers – all that doesn’t sound very alluring.
At the end of the article, I remembered something. “Wait a minute,” I thought. “This lady writes for the NEW YORK TIMES. She has a book out. She’s just as much a part of the ‘gig economy’ as the poor souls she laments. But apparently, she is doing pretty well. So… how seriously can I take this article?”
It turns out, even those that condemn the gig economy, who lambast this “New Age” in which we live, are just as likely candidates to be a piece of the fabric of it as someone who absolutely loves network marketing or driving for Uber or posting Instagram posts 30 times a day.
So then, it comes down to a choice. How do we want to perceive this new economy? What’s our attitude about it? It turns out that we can complain about it but still be a part of it. Hell, we can even complain as a part of our brand! So the choice isn’t between griping and not griping. It’s really… are we going to step up? Are we going to find our people? Are we going to engage on every level, push ourselves beyond our comfortable limits, and become the Renaissance men and women this New Age is calling us to be? Are we going to evolve?
Or are we going to get left behind?
Are we going to sit and pout?
Are we going to make excuses?
The old-world system, with all of it empty promises, its tiny penchants, false security, and retirement funds that amount to next to nothing, will always be there if we decide we don’t like this new arrangement.
Doesn’t seem like much of a choice to me.