Could I have been a Ballerina? Millennials Insatiable Appetite to Try Everything

You’re probably reading the title of this post, thinking to yourself, “Where is Tamera going with this? What exactly stopped her?” Well aside from not having the feet or flexibility, I could not be Misty Copeland.

I’m not using this post as my therapy session. I have an appointment for that. I bring up the point because growing up my grandmother did a fantastic job of exposing me to different activities. Whether it was tennis one summer, ballet another, an acting class or modeling (yes, I did all four), I saw that life existed beyond 818 Home Street.

On the flip side, whenever I became bored with an activity, my grandmother did not coerce me into sticking with it. Not saying she should have but it started a chronic pattern of starting something new, going through the honeymoon phase and then suddenly becoming bored, ready to try the next big thing. Another word for this phenomenon is inconsistency. This is not the same as a poor work ethic. People would never use the words poor, work and ethic to describe my behavior. It more so relates to the activities: personal advancement or fulfillment. It’s a pattern that at 28, I’m working on getting out of.

But my issues with staying focused on one project and seeing it through is an issue I see with many Millennials.  We tend to have this insatiable appetite for creating success our way (a gift and a curse), but sometimes cannot stick it through when the going gets tough. Instead of re-charting the course, we immediately halt all activities and start from scratch, when it is not necessary.

You know us Millennials we love hard and die harder. Okay that was cheesy. But once we are committed to a cause or a project, we dedicate time and effort. But once we lose interest, hell it could be because it’s Tuesday, we give up. I know this because I’ve done it. Several times. Who knows! I could have been Serena Williams, Misty Copeland or Beyoncé (that last one is a stretch).

So how do we (and I’m speaking to myself also) combat these boughs of inconsistency or the urge to want to try everything?

Passion. It is the biggest factor for why we do the things we do. Instead of just doing a project because you can (we can do anything), ask yourself “Is your heart in it?” 8 times out of 10, it will not. You must decide to step away and focus your energy on things that truly matter.

Think Big Picture. Is what you’re doing going to benefit you long term? This can apply to your professional and personal life goals. Will going to Bikram Yoga for 6 months nonstop bring you to inner peace? (If you live in New York, idk) Will it allow you to master that pose? Will blogging benefit you in the long run? How so? Sometimes as Millennials we don’t like to be introspective. Well better now than never.

Don’t Quit. Sometimes we get really bummed out when something does not go our way. As a result, we take that one moment as the cosmos telling us, we shouldn’t be doing it. Sometimes when all you’re hearing is “no”, one yes sometimes isn’t enough. But don’t quit. If it is an activity you’re passionate about and fits into your big picture, you owe it to yourself to keep going forward. Because if I know anything, it is Millennials hate living with regret.

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