We Think It Is So Much Harder Now, But Is It?

We're moving at warp speed from day to day, meeting to meeting, project to project, and commitment to commitment. We're working harder than ever to succeed, provide for our families, and in many cases just to make ends meet. Many of us in my generation, the 35 - 45 set, who are starting and raising families, and who are building careers, are often quick to lament how complex and fast paced our lives are now. Technology, broadband, and constant access have turned up the heat on our lives, and we strain against the pressure. But is it really harder now then it was when, for example, when my father was my age?

My father was born two years before the Great Depression. He was a college kid (at a Federal a academy) during World War II. He served in the US Navy as an Officer in Korea, and he started his family when our country was engaged in Vietnam. He was in corporate America during the hardly booming 70's, and then he had to send two kids to private colleges just as tuitions started to balloon in the 80's. And in the midst of all this providing there was retirement to prepare for in the late 90's, a retirement that arrived somewhat earlier than expected due to the now common term downsizing.

Granted there was no 24/7 information cycle, there was no constant transaction stream at the speed of broadband, and there were no PDAs as appendages. But does it sound like it was easier during my father's time to raise his family, grow a career, and grasp at some peace of mind? Yet he made it seem so doable, almost easy. Now I understand.

It may not be easy now, but it certainly was no easier then.