How can we as a generation?

[Uniquemind]

How can we as a generation not be naive young people, but wise, alert, and optimistic?


Young people are often told they are idealistic, but how can a generation of us as a large en mass group not only attain wisdom of those who came before us, but also retain our sense of hope and optimism well into our old age?

Suggestions?

[thatcountrykid]

Quit trying to see the world as sunshine and butterflies and stop being a victim. We used to stand up for ourselves and fight wars for moral reasons. Now we just stand by. Our country will be a society of victims.

[Miserabilia]

I think only a small amount of us are naive. Just like in adults there's a difference between smart and.... well less smart.. teens.

[CRH99]

by being realistic more than optimistic. wisdom comes with experience, and a big part of being aware is looking up from your phone and talking about current events and researching it. By being forced to grow up in a world that is rapidly becoming a massive shithole based on outdated hatreds and now irrelevant conflicts, we are going to have to step up to the plate and solve these issues intelligently. and our parents aren't helping. they are trying to shelter all of us from whats actually happening, and when they do try to explain they're spoon-feeding us. they dont understand, or just dont want to understand, that we understand. (most of us) We have to turn a war torn world into a place that we can be proud to raise our children in, and the issue is that our generation is heavily criticized because of our dependence on our devices. this is not in any way, shape or form unjustified either. we are more concerned with having enough food in farmville than in Africa, and even our own cities. we need to look up from candy crush, and realize that the world is real, and that we have the power to fix it, and the power to leave a positive legacy.

[Atom]

wise, alert, and optimistic.

Learn, pay attention and believe. Being pessimistic is a luxury we can't afford. Pessimism kills tallent. Don't intentionally look for problems. Take them on as they come and don't let the prejudice stop you from going forward.

Young people are often told they are idealistic.
Never stop being idealistic. Only pessimists say that being idealistic is a bad thing. I understand what you mean, that being idealistic blinds people from seeing how thing really work. And that's why you should learn and pay attention.

How can a generation of us as a large en mass group not only attain wisdom of those who came before us, but also retain our sense of hope and optimism well into our old age?

Always listen to what they have to say, but take this as nothing more than an advice from a credible source.

[Stronk Serb]

Sometimes I think there is no hope for our generation. Some people I know literally deserve death by firring squad as a disciplinary action for how dangerous and stupid for society they are. Sometimes it's best to kill it before it lays eggs.

[fairmaiden]

We should stand up for ourselves. We should educate ourselves.

Some of us are already emotionally mature and some of us aren't.

[Mil1dreded]

It is nice to try and be positive but when there's a break in class seeing the whole class whip out their phones instead of even bothering to make a conversation with the people near them is the perfect summary for our generation despite there being the odd person who isn't like that

[Jason The Great]

We should read books more .... not only novels! Anyway its a good way to learn via books....

[Uniquemind]

I'm totally pro optimism, but I feel that the culture of advocating optimism seems to go hand in hand with making one naive.

Like for instance you are working on a group project, and if you ACKNOWLEDGE the worst outcome and make a plan to compensate for the worst scenario, everyone says "stop being pessimist, that won't happen".

To me there's a big difference between pessimism and being wise and covering all of your bases.

But among peers they interpret it as not being optimistic and I interpret that as idealism or naïveté.

[Microcosm]

If we are going to direct our optimism anywhere, then we should direct it towards scientific discovery, space exploration, etc. This upcoming generation of the early twenty-first century could go one of two ways: Kids grow up to be very productive and evolve society, or kids grow up continuing to think they will be football super stars and never really add anything to our world except for a few smiles and football riots. There don't seem to be that many kids that are directing their optimism in the right directions. At least not at the high school which I am currently attending. However, my school does make pushes towards leading kids into the work force and they REALLY push these ideas that kids need to be prepared to get real, productive jobs. That being said, it is a conflict between what the kids of this generation seem to desire(to be football stars and movie stars and pop stars which contribute no real substance to the world) and what the schools and institutions are pushing for, which I can agree with(that we should all be placing our optimism towards getting a productive and worthwhile job that contributes strongly to our world). It is definitely a hard call to make when trying to determine what path this generation will take, and it seems to me that only time will tell.

[Uniquemind]

If we are going to direct our optimism anywhere, then we should direct it towards scientific discovery, space exploration, etc. This upcoming generation of the early twenty-first century could go one of two ways: Kids grow up to be very productive and evolve society, or kids grow up continuing to think they will be football super stars and never really add anything to our world except for a few smiles and football riots. There don't seem to be that many kids that are directing their optimism in the right directions. At least not at the high school which I am currently attending. However, my school does make pushes towards leading kids into the work force and they REALLY push these ideas that kids need to be prepared to get real, productive jobs. That being said, it is a conflict between what the kids of this generation seem to desire(to be football stars and movie stars and pop stars which contribute no real substance to the world) and what the schools and institutions are pushing for, which I can agree with(that we should all be placing our optimism towards getting a productive and worthwhile job that contributes strongly to our world). It is definitely a hard call to make when trying to determine what path this generation will take, and it seems to me that only time will tell.

Part of the problem lies with parents who preach and believe pseudo-science and conspiracy theories that they pass on to their children and then those children lack a center of mind to use logic and common sense on various trains of thought without emotional bias.

Topics like the tax code, and healthcare and basically how to live in the buearucracy of a world, only make sense to high intellectuals on purpose. (Lawyers etc.) there is a point where the common man needs to be sat down and explain how their being pushed around while they think their given a favor instead and don't realize their getting fooled.