We should probably pay more attention to Gen X

I write about my son a lot. It may seem like a parenting flex, but it's less about being sentimental and more about front-row reporting on history's next act.

He's part of Gen Alpha and?their appeal?is undeniable because they’re changing the rules faster than I can type. But this essay isn’t about them. It’s about the generation shaping the world they’ll grow up in.

Last week, Gen X turned out in droves to elect Donald Trump. It's trippy?because it proves generational shifts don’t follow a clean line. They’re more like small earthquakes, quietly cracking the foundation of our assumptions...

Personally, I think this election will mark a clear shift away from categorizing people based on demographic factors, and towards psychographic characteristics that’s long overdue.

The old way of stuffing people into demographic boxes was never really?accurate, it was just a quick and dirty way to lump us together. Skin tone, for example, has always been a shallow way to determine racial identity. But now, as the U.S. gets browner, it’s become an ineffective one as well.

Psychographics work because they blow up the stereotypes we're used to. They force us to reckon with the fact that the nuances within any group are often way more defining than the broad strokes we use to classify them. And I get it, I really do.

But as someone who spends a ton of time studying money and how it shapes our lives, I can tell you there are some universal truths that bind us, no matter what boxes we check. Of course we can't just lump everyone born in the same 15-year span into a monolith, but when you look at how generations navigate key life stages and economic conditions, there are common threads that emerge.

It's not the whole story, but it's an important piece to understand and learn from.

Gen X looks at risk differently

The average age of a Gen X person is in their late 40s and 50s. That’s the point where, statistically, their income has probably hit a ceiling. And tragically, just as their paychecks are leveling off, so is their happiness. It’s like, “Congratulations on your big income! Also, welcome to the least happy years of your life!” ??

When you hit a ceiling in your life, and you know deep down that staying the course won't get you anywhere new, sometimes you've just gotta say screw it and try something completely drastic. It's scary as all heck, but what choice do you have? After all, what are desperate times without desperate measures?

Gen X lived through the dot-com boom and 2008 crash and learned that sometimes volatility is the only way to “catch up.” They don’t love risk, but they understand it’s a necessary ingredient. And they use what they’ve learned to become pros at doing this careful dance with uncertainty. Doesn’t that sound like a more fluid and responsive path to resilience than the standard grit and determination route?

They also have a healthy skepticism of authority

If you were born between 1964 and 1980, you grew up during a time where authority figures were anything but trustworthy. You saw the Watergate scandal unfold, watched the Challenger explosion live in your classrooms, and witnessed the "greed is good" mentality of the '80s crash and burn in financial scandals.

Gen X learned the hard way that just because someone's in charge doesn't mean they're competent or honest. By the time the 2008 crisis hit, skepticism wasn't a choice, it was a survival skill.

When trust in institutions is waning, your ability to think critically and hold authority accountable is a valuable asset, no matter how old you are. It's the thing that keeps you from getting duped or manipulated because you're not just going to take someone's word for it, you're going to dig in, ask tough questions, and make sure it adds up.

It makes sense, then, that Gen X is workplace agnostic

And honestly??I hope anyone who grows up watching corporations rise and fall ends up?the same way. I'm not saying you have to be a jaded cynic, but we should all have more faith in our own long-term growth potential than the temporary optimism of quarterly earnings reports.

Gen X built careers on self-sufficiency instead of loyalty. For them, work is a means to security, not a symbol of identity or status. They prioritize skills and independence, not because they don’t care about work, but because they know career security lies in having options.

They don’t buy into the “work family” narrative and keep their focus on staying adaptable. This approach isn’t cynical, it’s survival. In a world where layoffs are as common as they are, isn’t self-reliance the only plan that makes sense?

Every generation revolutionizes something, and the "forgotten generation” revolutionized doing it without making a scene. We can certainly debate their politics, but here’s the thing: resilience, independence, and skepticism aren’t just Gen X values. They’re core to the American experience and each generation applies them to the promises they’ve been sold and the structures they have to work within.

What changes are the stakes?and the specific threats and opportunities that make those instincts feel urgent. But we will all face pivotal turning points in our lives where we have to fight to protect what matters most. So we may be on different timelines, but we're not as different as it may seem...

Last week spotlighted what anyone who's done serious therapy already knows: we've got major family dysfunction happening on a national scale. Half the country is living in a completely different emotional reality than the other half.

This week on the podcast, we're in our post-election feelings. Because emotions may not?be rational, but they're real, and our consumer culture is just making the gap wider. if you're ready to get a little uncomfortable and talk about it, tap in...

Listen to episode 188 or watch it on YouTube below