Gen-Y has a big chip on our collective shoulders.
We like things to be easy. Especially things we do on a daily basis. They don’t have to be easy for everyone, just easy for us. It could be something as simple as getting plants to grow or something as complicated as nuclear fission. If it’s easy and we can feel like a rockstar with minimal effort, we’re all over it. The problem is, it’s not rockstar-level work. It’s Easy Cheese.
Information is so prevalent to us that we have a lot of reservations about doing things we may not be good at. Or saying the wrong thing. Or failing at something hard. One slip up and your public humiliation is just a smartphone Facebook post away. Cisco fatty, anyone?
The problem is, very few things are actually that easy. Worse yet, that kind of fixed mindset completely excludes the “learn by doing” growth opportunity (for a great read on this topic: see Mindset by Carol Dweck).
When they say that anything worth doing will always take more effort, time, and attention than you think – they’re right.
Anyone can be an Easy Cheese Rockstar. The difference is easy to see; and our collective stance toward seeking out and promoting Easy Cheese in the workplace is almost always interpreted as entitlement.
The people who laugh at you when you slip – they’re sippin’ their Easy Cheese. It takes a lot of time, effort, and attention to move past that level. And, despite the public proclivity towards schadenfreude, your fans will support and celebrate your attempt – as long as it’s whole-hearted. You don’t have to climb a mountain to “climb a mountain”, ya know? So, get started!
