Sticktoitiveness in my 20s
Posted in Current Events and tagged with Generation, God, Living, Sticktoitiveness on June 11, 2009
One thing I’ve noticed lately as I’ve been cruising the 20-something blogosphere is how many bloggers my age have shut down their blog or quit blogging. Now, I suppose this is pretty common throughout the blogosphere, but it seems to me that this points to a greater problem that my generation (whatever you want to call us) has: by and large we lack sticktoitiveness.
Is it something that we’ll grow out of? Perhaps. Maybe this same problem has been seen in previous generations when they were our age, but I think even if that was so, there’s something different about our situation. We now live in a day and age where most people are moving around multiple times, changing jobs, changing friends, changing belief systems, and changing spouses.
It even has gotten to the point where people who stick to their marriages, career paths, and hometowns are often viewed as sheltered and in need of “living a little.” Since when has living been defined by change for change’s sake?
I don’t know how this trend can be reversed, or even if that needs to happen completely. Since I moved to North Carolina (see, I am a product of my generation), I’ve realized the value of sticking in one place. I’m sure my family would have appreciated me realizing that before I left Kansas, but here I am, and I know it’s exactly where God wants me.
Now that I’m here, I don’t plan to leave, unless God makes it clear I’m to go. I don’t want to leave the church and go somewhere else; if I go, it’ll be because I’m being send out. I may not be able to reverse the trend, but I can choose not to go along with it. Here’s to sticktoitiveness. (If you say it enough times, does that make it a word?)
Photo by batega
June 11th, 2009 at 12:16 am
Yes we do lack that, I have to agree. As much as it pains me to do so. Something gets too hard or too boring so we quit. It’s sad, but that is this generation. My blog won’t be shutting down anytime soon. :)
June 11th, 2009 at 12:27 am
I’ll probably keep my blog until I croak. I love to write. Plus I have a terrible memory so I’m thrilled that I have something to read and go, “OH, so that DID happen..”
June 11th, 2009 at 1:05 am
That’s interesting. I’ve actually noticed a lot of people who have stopped blogging, but I would say that most of them are moms.
June 11th, 2009 at 3:41 am
I think sticktoitiveness is a fabulous word. :)
It makes me sad that so many bloggers are quitting. I can’t imagine just deciding one day that I’m done.
And you make a very good point. The thing that gets me are marriages and divorces. If I want to get married I want it to stay that way, you know? It may be naive of me but I think there are things in life that should last.
June 11th, 2009 at 7:27 am
I think some of it has to do with technology (and other things) and the ability to have one’s mind stimulated 24/7, but not stimulated necessarily in a good way. The ability to get whatever one wants whenever one wants and the ability to always stay in touch makes people bored easier and in need of constant stimulation and therefore constant change. We’re a society that loves drama as well and are making it more and more acceptible everyday. Kids aren’t as worried about the consequences of their actions (because they’re not taught the difference between right and wrong) and so they make bad decisions and are never chided for their behavior. It’s sins like pride and selfishness that are allowed to grow in each of us, especially the youth.
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June 11th, 2009 at 7:35 am
Well, now that I can say I’m clearing out of my 20s (Happy Birthday to me :) ), I can say that for me and the Man Beast personally, it’s not a generational thing: it’s an age thing.
Looking back, I can honestly say that we didn’t develop (and nurture) stickittoitviness until around 5 or 6 years ago. Up until then, we moved a lot and we switched jobs a lot. We were also kind of flighty in our marriage.
It’s much better now. We’ve lived in GA for eight years (where has the time gone??!). We did move to the city we’re in now about four years ago but that was due to a job promotion.
I’ve often wondered about those 20-somethings who graduate high school and college and immediately go into living life the ‘right way’ (read: the grown up way). Their way is definitely better, I think. But I also think everyone has their own learning curve. Some of us (me!) choose to take the more scenic route.
June 11th, 2009 at 7:48 am
I agree–many of our generation do lack “sticktoitiveness” (love that word!). But I want to offer another reason that people (particularly 20-somethings) are shutting down their blogs.
It’s actually something I’ve considered doing as well–life comes at you so fast in this period what with marriage, babies, careers, that you have to start prioritizing, something that I think our generation does very well: “Do I spend time with my spouse, or do I blog about spending time with my spouse?” “Do I mow the lawn or write an entry?” Blogging often takes a back seat…if it gets a seat at all.
June 11th, 2009 at 8:48 am
I actually kind of agree with Iva. I think it has as lot to do with a lack of sticktoitiveness (in other words, raisin’). But I also think it has to do with maturity level. I know that now, closer to 30, I’m more willing to stick with things, settle down, and fight for what I believe in instead of changing with the wind. Maybe we need to not stick to things in our younger years so that we CAN stick to things in our…age (I refuse to say OLDER age before I’m even 30!).
June 11th, 2009 at 10:55 am
they say that out of 133 million blogs, only 7 million have been updated in the last four months.
June 11th, 2009 at 11:05 am
I’ve seen the same thing happening too and wondered why. I don’t think I could possibly shut my blog down at this point without risking utter despair. It’s what makes me happy and fulfilled and that’s a tall order for any one thing.
While I agree that our generation lacks a sticktuitiveness, we also have a thing about idea-hopping that seems to leave old ideas behind once new ones are out there.
June 11th, 2009 at 11:21 am
Yeah, sadly I suffer from that. I try not to but as a previous commenter said. If it gets boring or to hard it doesn’t take much for me to throw in the towel. The only thing I have not done that with and don’t ever intend to do it with is my marriage, family and the Lord. Projects, especially ones to do with the household, yeah, those are usually the first things to go for me. I don’t quit the blogging world, I just take short or extended leaves. I always come back :)
June 11th, 2009 at 11:24 am
Sticktoitiveness – i.e. perseverance:-) – I think is a trait that it learned. I think sometimes it just comes with time/age, but also if the previous generation slacks on teaching it, then then the next a little more, and the next a little more, you’ll see a serious decline. There are a lot of things pulling for our attention and the younger generations are the ones who have been told that they can “do it all/have it all.” It is simply not true and when a life gets so filled up with stuff and distractions, something’s got to fall by the way side.
Personally, I blog because it is easier than sending photos and letters in the mail;-)
June 11th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
i would agree that we are a very disposable generation/society. we are always getting new phones, computers, i-pods, cars, nothing is meant to last a long time.
also, it seems that anytime anything ever gets hard, we abandon it, marriages, jobs, friends, even blogs.
plus, i do think we also tend to have a lower self esteem (despite all those big esteem pushes they did in the 90s) i think many blog to get praise, attention and a feeling of self worth, when they doesn’t happen, they stop.
just my pennies….
June 11th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Glad you are stickin’ to it! ;)
June 11th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
@Mia: I think you’ve summed it up, as several other commenters noticed. We don’t like to stick to what is hard or boring…and we were never taught to do so.
@Amber: Me too. For me, it’s great to look back and see that I HAVE grown, as a person and as a writer.
@Sleepyjane: Yes, there are some things that last. Blogging probably isn’t one of them, but marriage certainly should be.
@Vicki: Great comment! Also, I think that like an substance, it takes more and more to get the same amount of excitement and entertainment, thus we move on more quickly.
@Iva: I’ve always been the type to stick things out, but I’ve notice I’ve grown in this area more recently.
@Amanda: There’s definitely good reasons to leave blogging, but it doesn’t seem like that’s the main reason people do, though.
@Elizabeth: I think that it does have something to do with raising…if a game/activity gets hard, to be encourage the child to play/stick with it to the end, or do we give them something else to do?
@Jessica: I’ve heard that, too. Sounds about right!
@Kim: My blog means more to me than perhaps it ought…but it is important to me.
@Veronica: As long as you stick to the important things!
@Lisa: I didn’t want to use the “p” word because it encompasses much more, but yes, that’s what I’m talking about. Oh, and sounds like you blog out of lazyness…haha!
June 11th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Hi! You were on roll call before me this morning so I’m popping over to visit from SITS.
Great article! And that’s a great and very real word. Stick–to–it·ive·ness – noun – Etymology: from the phrase stick to it – Date: 1867: dogged perseverance : tenacity.
I’m in my 50s now and sort of involuntarily “retired” {long story} so I have the time, but back in the old days {LOL} when I was in my 20s, I would have never blogged had that even been in the equation technology-wise, which it wasn’t back then. I might have started a blog like many do today, but it would have gone the wayside pretty quick. Back then I was too busy running. Going and doing all the time. I barely sat still as it was, and would never have stuck with blogging. Today, even with all the other stuff and all the technology, I do it because I have the time right now – no young children, retired, more free time overall. I wonder if it’s more that people quit blogging because it really IS very time consuming to keep an active blog (especially an active food blog!), and there are other things in life that tend to take priority when you are in your 20s and 30s? Just a thought.
June 11th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
I agree with some of these comments that we have to make good time choices and I believe that should be done throughout our lives – not just at a certain age! It may have seemed like a fun thing to have a blog, but then after a while they realize how much time it takes to keep it up, and they choose to leave it.
I have thought about stopping many times, but my friends and family out west really enjoy reading and seeing what we are up to on a regular basis. Plus I hope to have this as a record/journal for my kids to have one day!
I really like the word Sticktoitiveness!! You stick-to-it girl! We like your blog!
June 11th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
@Mary: Thanks…glad it’s a word. Yeah, it can be time-consuming to blog, but I think it’s worth it (for me)!
@Anon (aka Hi-D…I had to know who it was since this didn’t seem like a true anon, and I assume it was accidental. Yay for Statcounter!): Thanks!
June 11th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Great word. I guess blogging has different meanings for different people. Some to get them thru difficult times, others who had big dreams of their blog becoming a lifetime movie or whatever.
I haven’t seriously considered quitting my blog. I know it can be a challenge sometimes to think of topics to write on. But if you let life happen it will you usually give you plenty of material.
♥
Joy
June 11th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
You show them. You stick to it.
June 11th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
Good for you for sticking to it! I’ve heard that most blogs die out in less than three months, and since not all of them are 20 somethings, one could hypothesize that it’s not just Gen Y or whatever the tag is these days, that it is symptomatic of our society as a whole in the internet era.
June 12th, 2009 at 10:39 am
@Joy: I’ve only struggled with material a couple of times. Ideas come to me at random time, one of next week’s posts was the last thing I was thinking about as I fell asleep the other night.
@Cara: I suppose I’m well past the honeymoon period of my blog now that I’m 3 years into it. I do think that our society as a whole is rather flighty, especially in technology.
June 12th, 2009 at 11:22 am
Ronnica,
My mother raised me to have stick-to-it-iveness. She always said it, never wrote it, but I spelled it with hyphens. In fact, I recently wrote a guest post at Confident Writing on the topic of stick-to-it-iveness. I’ve never heard anyone but mother (who has been dead six years now) use that word, so when I saw it in your title I immediately thought of her.
June 12th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
But really, isn’t sticktoitiveness all relative? For instance, what about military families? Sticking to it means constantly moving, constantly adapting to new surroundings and people.
Maybe sticking with your marriage means giving things up…like a blog so you can spend more time with your spouse and children.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t stick with some things that you start, but maybe there are times when nonsticktoitiveness is the right path.
June 13th, 2009 at 12:41 am
@Lillie: I hope those are good memories. =)
@(army)Wife: Definitely! I think that along with sticktoitiveness we all need to grow in flexibility!
June 22nd, 2009 at 5:36 pm
I hate to say this, but i know i lack sticktoitiveness. First, I go through periods of looking forward to writing. Then, i go through periods of having to force myself to write one sentence. It’s so frustrating. Anyways, i agree with you. People who have sticktoitiveness when it comes to marriages, career paths and hometowns are looked down upon, which is totally unfair. It should be the other way around.