Navigating Quarterlife (Satya Doyle Byock)
\u201cThe focus of adulthood has been on stability, just, you know, find a job and don't leave it, find a partner and don't get divorced, have babies, you know, white picket fence, the vision of adulthood has been so wedded to stability that it was hard for me, even in writing the book and sorting this out, to pull them apart, you know, that the understanding full stop is that the goal of adulthood is to gain stability and then midlife, we now understand people have to search for meaning because there wasn't time for that prior. I'm trying to revise that and name what I think all of us have known for a long time, which is that it just doesn't work that way. It's not that easy. And actually, if we aren't finding our own personal sense of meaning in this world, while also working to gain some sense of physical, emotional, relational stability, then there's gonna just continue to be a lot of angst and confusion and pain and, and, you know, all sorts of symptoms resulting from that,\u201d so says Satya Doyle Byock, psychotherapist and author of Quarterlife: The Search for Self in Early Adulthood. Satya has dedicated her career to influencing the way developmental psychology views and attends to \u201cQuarterlifers\u201d, or individuals between the ages of sixteen and thirty-six. Her incredible new book draws upon Jungian psychology, social justice advocacy, trauma-informed care, and historical research to provide readers with guideposts for this period of life, which has too long been ignored by popular culture and psychology, she argues.\xa0\nSome quarterlifers, \u201cstability types\u201d as Satya calls them, have done everything \u201cright\u201d by society\u2019s standards, yet remain unfulfilled and unclear on what to do next. \u201cMeaning types\u201d, at the other end of the spectrum, are not interested in the prescribed path, but feel as though they are drifting through life directionless. Some don\u2019t want to participate in life at all. Our conversation explores this spectrum of being, setting to untangle the messy, uncharted path to wholeness as we engage with Satya\u2019s four pillars of Quarterlife development, a powerful toolkit for young adults looking for a way through their psychological and existential crises. We talk about the cultural hazing cycle, young adults\u2019 devotion to parental expectations, and the importance of developing our discernment muscle. So whether you are a young adult, or are simply seeking to understand the struggles of a generation, I hope our conversation leaves you eager to explore the ever-evolving balance between stability and meaning.\xa0\n\xa0\nEPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:\n\nMeaning types vs. stability types\u2026\xa0\n\nStuck in ambivalence..\n\nDeveloping discernment\u2026\n\n\nMORE FROM SATYA BYOCK:\nQuarterlife: The Search for Self in Early Adulthood\nAre You a Meaning Type or Stability Type? \u2014 Take the Quiz\nSatya's Website\nThe Salom\xe9 Institute of Jungian Studies\nFollow Satya on Instagram\n \nTo learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy\n \n Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices