When the Fire Fizzles

Good decisions follow the Goldilocks “just right” principle: not rushed, but still bold.

Many of the traditional markers of adulthood, such as getting married, having kids, and buying a home, are happening later — if at all. 

This is not an attack on my fellow millennials. Many economic factors make it harder for young people to break out of the so-called “emerging adulthood” or “extended adolescence.”

Still, while we cannot control the skyrocketing cost of education, we’re often less courageous than we could be. 

Sometimes we think we need absolute certainty before we make a big life decision. Sometimes we think we must have everything in place and only then get married or only then try out a new endeavor. 

Something tells me that my grandmother did not have absolute certainty and everything in place when she tied the knot at twenty. 

Economic conditions have changed. The need to step forward into the unknown has not. 

Debt may delay our plans, but cowardice ought not delay them further.