Author Jocelyn K. Glei calls it “productivity shame.” The book Sapiens refers to it as the “luxury trap.” Fitness guru Darin Olien calls them “fatal conveniences.” Across the board, and despite the name, it’s that feeling of agitation that comes from the preoccupation of that which does not satisfy.

Millennials — and most people reading this — suffer from the modern conveniences of daily life, where we’re basically so safe from the outside world that we’re killing ourselves from the inside out. As you’ve likely heard before, the character Tyler Durden summarizes the inner war as...

Author Jocelyn K. Glei calls it “productivity shame.” The book Sapiens refers to it as the “luxury trap.” Fitness guru Darin Olien calls them “fatal conveniences.” Across the board, and despite the name, it’s that feeling of agitation that comes from the preoccupation of that which does not satisfy.

Millennials — and most people reading this — suffer from the modern conveniences of daily life, where we’re basically so safe from the outside world that we’re killing ourselves from the inside out. As you’ve likely heard before, the character Tyler Durden summarizes the inner war as follows:

We’re the middle children of history. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War’s a spiritual war. Our Great Depression is our lives.

Every generation is categorically defined by one trait among others, mostly for the sake of convenience. Baby Boomers (born 1946 to 1964) are known for Post WWII optimism and the hippie movement. Generation X (born 1965 to 1979) were shaped by the Cold War, the rise of personal computing, and staggering debt. Millennials (born 1980 to 1994) were molded by the Great Recession, the 9/11 attack, and the rise of social media, along with massive student debt which delayed many of life’s major purchases.

Setting aside the fallacy that everyone born within a certain time frame has the same personality, there are historical truths as to what shapes the world on a larger scale. Both political and social influences are able to shape shared realities, along with previous generations. For Millennials, specifically, the original consensus labeled us a coddled generation, but in reality, there’s much more to the story...