Interesting Definition of Millenials

tug_boat

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There was an head scratching thread trying to compare a SA to a Sci Channel hit. If it was a troll, someone trying to start a conversation, or just someone trying to catch some interest. You cant but scratch you head at some of this stuff. The above link on youtube by Simon Sinek who is a curious topic of discussion in his own right.

Push Hard, Press Forward
 

There was an head scratching thread trying to compare a SA to a Sci Channel hit. If it was a troll, someone trying to start a conversation, or just someone trying to catch some interest. You cant but scratch you head at some of this stuff. The above link on youtube by Simon Sinek who is a curious topic of discussion in his own right.

Push Hard, Press Forward

And yet Top Gun attracted how many people to the Air Force and Navy?
 
Also, Simon Sinek gets a huge eyeroll. Have heard him in person twice. He's another Gladwell.
 
Also, Simon Sinek gets a huge eyeroll. Have heard him in person twice. He's another Gladwell.

And I understand. He doesn't have a lot of depth, however, his perspective is interesting. His has helped with being able to communicate with younger people who look at me as a dinosaur who doesn't have anything to offer them. Nothing at all. This is why all of my deck hands are from the military. We can communicate. I never get any young kids apply, a few have asked, but when I tell them its not unusual to have 10, 12, 18 hour days, they immediately tune me out and walk away.

I was chatting with a young man who had recently graduated from school and had applied for a job in the City of LA. The job application stated passing was 70 percent on a written exam. He was excited that his test score was 75 percent. Since this was a very well respected job, high paying, benefits and retirement program, the amount of people applying was overwhelming. The selection process only allowed the top 2 percent to continue with the testing process. He felt that was not fair because he also passed but was not going to continue.

I read about this all time on SAF. Did I pass the running with my low score, are my standardized tests score good enough? Why is the entry selection into a SA so difficult compared to other colleges? Its the same story, minimal effort to get maximum benefit.

Push Hard, Press Forward
 
And I understand. He doesn't have a lot of depth, however, his perspective is interesting. His has helped with being able to communicate with younger people who look at me as a dinosaur who doesn't have anything to offer them. Nothing at all. This is why all of my deck hands are from the military. We can communicate. I never get any young kids apply, a few have asked, but when I tell them its not unusual to have 10, 12, 18 hour days, they immediately tune me out and walk away.

I was chatting with a young man who had recently graduated from school and had applied for a job in the City of LA. The job application stated passing was 70 percent on a written exam. He was excited that his test score was 75 percent. Since this was a very well respected job, high paying, benefits and retirement program, the amount of people applying was overwhelming. The selection process only allowed the top 2 percent to continue with the testing process. He felt that was not fair because he also passed but was not going to continue.

I read about this all time on SAF. Did I pass the running with my low score, are my standardized tests score good enough? Why is the entry selection into a SA so difficult compared to other colleges? Its the same story, minimal effort to get maximum benefit.

Push Hard, Press Forward

I don't doubt that your last point is true, re: effort and benefit. What I don't understand is how the Boomers, who excel at that attitude all the way to the voting booth, have decided that the trait began with milennials.
 
This is the first time I've heard of Sinek, so I cannot say what some of his other ideas may be. However, I do think he hits the nail on the head with some of his thoughts in this video. From participation trophies (special snowflakes), to parents demanding the undeserved A's all the way to the overuse/addiction to social media. Kids that grow up thinking that way are destined for mediocrity.

Another thought that I have is that it's rare for families to actually sit down for a meal together anymore, except on special occasions. We eat dinner as a family pretty much every night, in the dining room with no TV. It's actually a rare occasion that we don't eat together. My kid's friends love eating dinner at our house, it's loud and crazy and there's always room for another to join us. We talk about our day, etc. The friends tell me the "normal" at their homes are that they either eat in the family room in front of the TV, or worse - in their bedrooms. So sad.
 
I don't doubt that your last point is true, re: effort and benefit. What I don't understand is how the Boomers, who excel at that attitude all the way to the voting booth, have decided that the trait began with milennials.

This my friend is for another day on another thread.

We won't have much on an argument since we'll be seated on the same side

Push Hard, Press Forward
 
This is the first time I've heard of Sinek, so I cannot say what some of his other ideas may be. However, I do think he hits the nail on the head with some of his thoughts in this video. From participation trophies (special snowflakes), to parents demanding the undeserved A's all the way to the overuse/addiction to social media. Kids that grow up thinking that way are destined for mediocrity.

Another thought that I have is that it's rare for families to actually sit down for a meal together anymore, except on special occasions. We eat dinner as a family pretty much every night, in the dining room with no TV. It's actually a rare occasion that we don't eat together. My kid's friends love eating dinner at our house, it's loud and crazy and there's always room for another to join us. We talk about our day, etc. The friends tell me the "normal" at their homes are that they either eat in the family room in front of the TV, or worse - in their bedrooms. So sad.

Ah, yes. The tried and true "snowflakes" accusation, followed swiftly by tales of how the author is the only parent doing it right (and thereby not producing one of these awful "snowflakes") while everyone else just lost track of them there good ol' 'Merican values that made this country great, like spankin' and family meals and such.

The SAF standard. You can set your watch by it.
 
I never said I was doing it right - only that it was sad when I have had my kid's friends tell me they wished their own families had dinner together like ours does.

Scout, I know you've recently had your first baby (congrats!), so I am guessing you haven't had the parental experience of participation trophies on a soccer team yet. When the worst player on a team is given a trophy and told he/she is just as great as the star player - it does the kid zero favors. It teaches kids they are handed a trophy for simply showing up and putting forth the minimum effort required. That is not how adulthood works, as I am sure you are well aware.
 
Don't worry folks, there are plenty of participation medals and ribbons too.... national defense, achievement, bronze stars, commendations.... get senior enough and there are Legions of Merit.

Participate in a war.... get your WWII, Korea, Vietnam or Desert Storm medals.

Go the the Arctic... get a medal for that.

Heck, the Air Force even gives you a ribbon or two for just going to a school.

The soccer trophies don't end at soccer...
 
Scout, I know you've recently had your first baby (congrats!), so I am guessing you haven't had the parental experience of participation trophies on a soccer team yet. When the worst player on a team is given a trophy and told he/she is just as great as the star player - it does the kid zero favors. It teaches kids they are handed a trophy for simply showing up and putting forth the minimum effort required. That is not how adulthood works, as I am sure you are well aware.

Is that what it teaches? Are you sure about that? Or are you confusing effort with talent?

You're right, I don't deal with soccer trophies. But I do deal with the military awards system. Would you declare our system to be broken and fostering failure because a kid in the Navy who sits in a shack on the flight line at NAS Oceana gets the same National Defense Service Medal as the Ranger who deploys 12 times and destroys the enemy in close combat? Or might we say there is something worth recognizing and promoting beyond patting the best of the best on the head and giving the others nothing?

Perhaps, in both examples, we might be recognizing and fostering the idea that no star, regardless of talent, excels in either case without the whole of the team--that showing up, putting in time and effort that is by no means required of them is worthy of a small token of celebration as a means to further instill the idea that we are all in this together, and that if only the "star players" matter then there will be a whole lot of QBs wishing they had linemen and a whole lot of empty engine rooms on ships.

I've noticed a whole lot of griping from your generation about this supposed widespread scourge of participation trophies. I guess that says something about how effective your peer group thinks its parenting was.
 
Some of the parents here are likely GenX.... early GenX but still technically GenX.
 
I absolutely agree that each player on a team is worthy of a token of celebration.

I have never served in the military myself (although parents and grandparents did) so I am not as familiar with medals and ribbons there. The soccer participation trophy is never the problem - it's when the MVP is not recognized for his/her EXTRA contribution.....in order to make sure the other kids "don't feel bad". Equate it to this: if they were to stop awarding the Medal of Honor, because people who just simply serve in the military might feel bad if they don't get one too. It's when you stop awarding excellence because you could hurt another's feelings.
 
I absolutely agree that each player on a team is worthy of a token of celebration.

I have never served in the military myself (although parents and grandparents did) so I am not as familiar with medals and ribbons there. The soccer participation trophy is never the problem - it's when the MVP is not recognized for his/her EXTRA contribution.....in order to make sure the other kids "don't feel bad". Equate it to this: if they were to stop awarding the Medal of Honor, because people who just simply serve in the military might feel bad if they don't get one too. It's when you stop awarding excellence because you could hurt another's feelings.
This is now totally different than your initial statement.
 
SEALmom,

Just walk away. You're wasting your time.

This thread is a sucking vortex like every other one that navel gazes the generational differences...like it's something new.

Good on you for recognizing the importance of sitting down together (sans cell phones) as a family for dinner. The more the merrier.
 
It's not totally different, I was just clarifying that the term "participation trophy" is generally known to be given in favor of (or instead of) trophies awarded for excellence. The derogatory meaning of "participation trophy" is not against an award given to all players, but when the participation is the only trophy awarded at all.
 
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