OpenTube

5 Harsh Truths Gen X Is Finally Facing

Ellis James Stewart

153,031 views

Gen X was told that if we worked hard, kept our heads down and did the right thing, life would eventually make sense.

Instead, we got burnout, disappearing pensions, rising costs, ageing parents, existential dread and an email about mandatory workplace mindfulness training.

In this video, the final part in my Gen X series I explore 5 harsh truths many Gen X people are quietly realising in their 40s and 50s, with a bit of nostalgia and brutally honest reflection along the way.

If this sounds painfully familiar… welcome aboard.

✅ Mentorship Program Life & YouTube: [https://midlifereset.carrd.co]

☕️ Buy me a Coffee to fuel my next beach walk and get a shoutout:
[https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ellisjam...]

🎥 Subscribe for more honest, inspiring conversations about life: [@ellisjamesx]

📺 Watch Next: My Top 5 Videos👇

#1. I Quit the Rat Race With Nothing: Here’s W...
#2. I Quit the Rat Race with Zero Savings! He...
#3. 5 Things I Stopped Sharing With People!
#4. I Finally Got Monetised on YouTube: After ...
#5. 7 Quiet Realisations That Hit After 50!

📚 My Two Books ⤵️

📘Everest: It's Not About The Summit by Ellis J Stewart (2016)
https://amzn.to/3Oatk8C

📙Misadventure: Lessons Learned From a Life of Ups and Downs by Ellis J Stewart (2021)
https://amzn.to/4aqAJbJ

📷 The Tech I Use to Record my Videos

Apple iPhone 16 Pro - https://amzn.to/4jr3WqA
DJI Pocket 3 Camera - https://amzn.to/45DsUxG
DJI Mic 2 - https://amzn.to/4gdiaZc
DJI Neo Pocket Drone - https://amzn.to/40ms2tT
Rab Aeon Lt 18 -20 Backpack - https://amzn.to/3LG3aKn

👕 Passenger Clothing (My go-to attire)

Passenger Men's Oceanic Recycled Insulated 1/2 Zip Jacket - https://amzn.to/45YiFUX
Escapism Recycled Cotton Hoodie -https://amzn.to/4a2ajN7
Escapism Recycled Cotton T-Shirt - https://amzn.to/4am6VOk
Escapism Recycled Vest Top - https://amzn.to/4t62kr3

👟 Vans Footwear (My feet vehicles)
https://amzn.to/3ZaOWnM

👟 Hoka Footwear (My feet vehicles)
https://amzn.to/4cd4aAv

🧢 My Jeep Cap (My favourite thing)
https://amzn.to/3ZKwW3H

20 Comments

@truthseeker1536 4 months ago

GEN Xer 55, we grew up alone, now we want to be left alone.

@GreggMcBrideOfficial 4 months ago

Gen X was raised on, “Figure it out.” Which explains both our resilience and several of our unresolved issues.

@skellener 4 months ago

GenX here…..I’m fucking exhausted. 👍

@rowynnecrowley1689 3 months ago

It's fitting that Gen X is "the forgotten generation". Cuz our parents mostly forgot about us too.

@ricardobrown8888 3 months ago

Gen X, 51, I'm tired of people, period

@rm2026-j5p 4 months ago

That hits hard, "We got good at surviving life but not really enjoying it."

@thecustodian2 4 months ago

The problem isn't in enjoying life. It's in that if we dare to enjoy anything, life will take it from us by force, the insanely worst way possible.

@richardlahan7068 3 months ago (edited)

Yep. We were sold a societal "promise" that if we worked hard and played the game the way we were supposed to, we'd be better off than our parents. It didn't work out that way.

@a_bob_of_one 3 months ago

"We became brilliant at surviving in life, but not very good at enjoying it." Eloquently put mate.

@RavensGod 3 months ago (edited)

"Gen X was told that if we worked hard, kept our heads down and did the right thing, life would eventually make sense." I was told the opposite by my late silent generation dad, who remembered the Great Depression and knew the games of companies, banks, wall street, news, advertising, the Government. Thanks dad.

@christines9m 3 months ago

The government came in like Darth Vader... "I am altering the deal. Pray I do not alter it further."

@tytzup5397 4 months ago

Kids today will never get the enjoyment of taping tunes off the radio.

@SeriousSamurai077 2 months ago

"Doing nothing feels like you're letting someone down, even when no one has asked you to do anything." Wow, that is literally any time I try to sit down and relax. Hit the nail on the head.

@ecodarling 3 months ago

"Being good at coping is not the same as being happy."

@BlaziusRex 3 months ago

Lost is accidental. Being overlooked is deliberate.

@cameronhickey7771 4 months ago

Its not so much about being "crap at asking for help". Its about understanding that there was no point in asking for help, because there was none - there was no plan B, so you just dealt with it.

@RoyalFizzbin 4 months ago

“Rest starts to feel suspicious” and “Asking for help feels like failure.” 100%. Why can everyone else accept or even pursue help and also rest, and we can’t?

@tashannoc 4 months ago

Started a new job a few months ago. The biggest criticism I keep getting is that I don't ask for help quickly enough. My brain still can't compute. I can't comprehend being criticized for trying to figure it out for myself.

@robtooley4002 4 months ago

We were told work hard and when you got older, you would step into higher roles in work, politics, etc. But the generation before us just won't step aside and has kept a stranglehold on power for so long refusing to retire. Then, when they are literally too old to function, they've handed off power to Millenials. Infuriating.