Coming from many different cultural backgrounds and religions, there are many different views on this word. This is one of the few words that many people use, but don’t really know the real definition of. Success. Success is such an awfully overused word, but when people are asked about success, how would they define it? Would it be about earning a lot of money or doing things they love? Would it be about doing what others want them to do, or what they want to do? There are a countless numbers of answers, but most of the inconsistency are between older people and people from the new generation. I hear countless stories about how teens argue with their parents about their future career, but is there something more that millennials could learn from people in the new generation? There is much more advice that elders could take from their kids no matter how irresponsible or ignorant they might seem. While simply watching their kids, they may be able to learn important life lessons such as to be themselves, not to stress, and to not be overly judgmental.

First, older people should not be so stressed all the time. While they should not completely ignore their task at hand, they should just stop worrying excessively. This is something that most parents struggle at. Workaholic adults are very common in this day and age. They may work up to about sixteen hours in a single day, and when they finish their shift and come back home, they may end up just going to sleep. However, little do they know is that all this time they spent working could be spent with their family, friends, or pets. It’s very saddening to see that when most adults reflect on their lives, they regret not being able to relax and spend time with their family the most. However, this whole problem could have been avoided if they just took the chance to stop and take note of their children. Most kids are experts at managing their time efficiently. They are able to get their projects and speeches done while still being able to relax or play with friends. Students are able to indulge in relaxation, however, I think adults should be able to as well.

Second, older people shouldn’t  judge others as much as they do. When kids are younger, they associate with their peers no matter what skin color they are and what foods they eat. Most of them are very open minded and accepting of the ethnicities of their friends. As time goes on, the kids’ intelligence increases, but this trait decreases. For the most part, kids from the older generations usually ended up becoming pretentious adults who thought they were superior simply because their race. This isn’t just a coincidence, it is a fact. In an article from BBC, psychologists have gathered evidence that parents who grew up around prejudice eventually ended up being just as judgmental as the people they grew up with. However, as prejudice starts to become socially unacceptable, people from older generations who may already be raised into thinking certain people aren’t “normal” because of their differences,  may still be able to change their way of thought if they take time to listen to their children.

Finally, older people should just be themselves. Adults are overly self conscious to an extent that it harms themselves as a person. They want to be so much like the general crowd that they lose a lot of the true colors that they once hand. What seemed like a humorous person with a bubbly personality, may turn completely serious when associating with others outside of their social bubble. Blending in with others in some situations is good, but most of the time it’s better to stand out. This is what little kids excel at. They usually look past social standards instead of following them. As a result they are remembered more often for their personality instead of just their physical features. It would be easier to remember a really open, outgoing person than a shallow one. The lack of self confidence really separates adults from younger kids.

What people of the older generation don’t take into account is that times are changing. What they thought was “correct” may eventually become something that is frowned upon such as being overly judgmental, or it could be something that hurts themselves such as worrying too much. Parents and elders easily overlook this, but if they were able to take some time to observe their kids’ actions/behaviors, they would be able to learn important lessons that would be beneficial for them.