First, Millennials had high expectations as young adults—more than half, for example, expected to earn a graduate degree. Continuing a trend begun by Gen X’ers, many more Millennials expected to earn a graduate degree than actually would, and more thought they would work in a professional job than actually would (see Figure 4.10 in the Gen X chapter). The classic formula says that happiness equals reality minus expectations. So if expectations are high (and Millennial expectations were sky-high), then reality won’t measure up even if it’s pretty good. Even good outcomes can be disappointing if
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