There are many things that boomers used to put up with just fine when they were younger but that now drive them around the bend. Which things are we talking about? You’ll find 19 examples of them in this article.
Finding out gossip
When we’re young, gossip seems interesting and exciting to us and we love to know what’s happening. But as we get older, we realize how destructive gossip can be, and we’re no longer interested in other people’s lives. We keep ourselves to ourselves and we feel better for it.
Rush around
CBS News says that “6 in 10 say they don’t have enough time to get everything done in the day… The average American says they could use four more hours each day.” Back when we had the energy for it, rushing around was no problem. Now, we can’t stand it.
Creating competition
When we’re young, we like to compete with others. We compete with others at work, with the family, and at school. But as time goes by, we grow tired of always competing with others, and we concentrate more on our own achievements than trying to be better than others.
Keeping up with fashion
While we’re in our teenage years and early 20s, we put a lot of hard work and energy into trying to keep up with the latest fashion. But this can be very tiring and expensive. In our old age, however, we put more emphasis on buying clothes that are comfortable rather than fashionable.
Speeding cars
When we were younger, we used to love fast cars, and when people drove fast on the road, it didn’t bother us. But now that we’re older, we’re more careful drivers, and we feel annoyed when people drive fast on the road. We don’t understand why people want to drive recklessly, and this irritates us.
Writing resumés
We’ve all written countless resumés in our lifetimes because that’s the only way to get a job. But now that we’re so close to retirement, we loathe the thought of having to sit down and write a resumé and brag about ourselves. We would rather stick with the job we have than write a new resumé.
Moving
According to Verywell Mind, “Relocation is not without its challenges; it’s even considered one of the most stressful life events we can go through.” Moving becomes even more stressful as we age. Most boomers dread having to get used to a new area and make themselves comfortable in a new house.
Working overtime
Years ago, we used to always offer to work overtime. We did this because we were desperate to keep our jobs and wanted to impress our bosses. But now that we are so close to retirement, we hate the thought of working extra hours because we value family time and free time more than ever.
Going to interviews
Going for an interview is a tiring process. Interviews take up a lot of time and energy. But back when we were keen to find the perfect job, we didn’t mind going for lots of interviews and we viewed it as good practice. Now, the thought of going for an interview makes us feel sick to our stomach.
Overexertion at work
In the past, we used to overexert ourselves at work because we wanted to impress our boss. We would even go to work when we were sick. Nowadays, however, we would never behave in the same way, as we are no longer trying to impress our boss. We simply want to do a good job and then go home.
Moving to the city
When we were younger, we used to love the idea of moving to the city. We wanted to live close to the action and have lots to do and places to go. As we’ve gotten older, the appeal of living in the city has dwindled, and we now want to live in the suburbs. We love peace and quiet.
Holding grudges
In times past, we would hold grudges when people upset us. Sometimes, we wouldn’t speak to someone for years over something that was, in hindsight, quite trivial. But with age comes wisdom, and we now value friendships so much more that we will do anything to save them.
Marital disputes
It’s normal for every couple to fight and disagree from time to time, but in the past, we used to take these disputes more seriously, and they would lead to massive problems in the family. But years of living with our partner have helped us to understand them better and put up with their quirky behavior.
Holidays and family gatherings
The Guardian says that most families get together at Thanksgiving to honor the family bond. When we were younger, we used to love meeting up with the family at this time and hosting family dinners. However, hosting large family meals can become overly stressful when we get older.
Earning money
When we were just starting out with our careers, earning money was really important. We would work overtime and do whatever we could to earn more money. Sometimes this meant working far away from home. As time has passed, we’ve realized how important family is and prioritize family over work.
Impressing our friends
In the past, we would do so many things to try to impress our friends. We would buy things just for prestige and do things just to fit in. Nowadays, fitting in is no longer a priority for us and we are happy with the life that we live. We put more emphasis on our own happiness than on other people’s opinions.
Workplace stress
Statistics from the American Institute of Stress show that “83% of US workers suffer from work-related stress, with 25% saying their job is the number one stressor in their lives.” Yes, stress and workplace drama used to be tolerable when we were younger, but as we get older, we try to avoid them.
Celebrity watch
When we were younger, we would always keep on top of the latest celebrity news. We knew everything about celebrities, what they were doing, and how they dressed. As the years have gone by, we’ve stopped caring about celebrities as much as we used to, and now we concentrate on our family life and happiness.
Busy vacations
In the past, vacation time used to be a busy time for us. We would cram so many things into our vacation because we had limited time. However, now that we’ve retired, we have so much more time on our hands, and we can finally relax while on vacation and really enjoy it.
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