Gen Z Won’t Truly Be Content Until They Realize ‘Most Of Life Is Just Ordinary,’ Says Michelle Obama
Michelle Obama stressed the importance of learning that sometimes life is just mundane, and there's nothing wrong with that.
Peter Serocki | Shutterstock It's no surprise that Gen Z is struggling to find happiness and fulfillment in their adult lives when their generation has experienced an immense amount of upheaval and change. From having to live through a pandemic, grappling with student debt, the cost of living drastically increasing, and even struggling to find jobs right out of college, young adults have had quite a time transitioning from their adolescent years into adulthood.
However, during a clip from her IMO podcast, Michelle Obama gave some brilliant insight into why Gen Z might have to reckon with the fact that life isn't always exciting despite what they may have anticipated. The former First Lady pointed out that once Gen Z is able to accept that their life isn't going to always be full of bustling moments, there is beauty and happiness in the mundane.
Michelle Obama said young people won't be content until they realize 'most of life is just ordinary.'
"We have a generation of people in their 20s who think that the goal is their personal happiness," Obama said, talking to KeKe Palmer during an episode of her podcast, "IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson," alongside her older brother. "That is just not life."
Obama explained that life is just full of bumps and obstacles that can easily knock you down and make you miserable. Gen Z isn't the only generation to have lived through and spent most of their early adulthood in turmoil and unpredictable change. Instead, Obama encouraged young adults to view service as a means to bring happiness into their lives.
Speaking about how she talks to her daughters, Malia and Sasha, Obama said she has always told them that the greatest gift they can have for themselves is the ability to be self-satisfied. Just being happy where you are, insisted Obama, wherever that may be.
"To learn how to be like, 'This is not exciting. I'm not winning. I'm not losing. I'm not achieving. It's not a party. I don't have friends around every day.' It's like most of life is just the nothing in the middle," Obama continued.
Most Gen Z adults have admitted to not feeling happy or satisfied with their lives.
According to a report from Gallup, only 25% Gen Z say they are very happy whereas 48% are somewhat happy, it was also revealed that in addition to about one-quarter of Gen Z who are not happy, about one-quarter of Gen Z do not consistently feel like their life matters, about half often feel anxious, and roughly one in five often feel depressed. Those are disheartening statistics.
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When asked about the factors that were influencing their happiness, 60% of Gen Zers who identify as happy say they do something interesting every day, compared with 28% of those who generally don't feel happy. From the survey, it seemed filling their days with things to do meant that Gen Z adults were experiencing higher levels of happiness.
However, as Obama stated, it's also important to realize that sometimes there aren't exciting activities and social events that you can fill your calendar with. Sometimes life is just monotonous. It doesn't mean that you need to settle for a life that feels uninspired, but that the quiet times in life don't mean you're failing. There is joy in that "nothing in the middle," as Obama called it.
Obama noticed that young people don't want a life that's just in the middle.
"When things are just bland. Most of life is just ordinary," Obama said. "You gotta learn how to be happy alone. You gotta be happy, a little bored. You gotta be happy when things are hard."
Even if you've failed, you need to find that happiness is still possible. Obama insisted that many young people are just focused on chasing the impossible feeling of being happy all the time. After a while, it simply becomes exhausting because you're just chasing these unrealistic standards and expectations of what life should be like. But there is power in being grounded and present, even if you're experiencing an ordinary day.
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor's degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.
