Are You More Than Your Generation?

Every generation inherits a set of assumptions about what is realistic, acceptable, or possible. Labels such as Baby Boomer, Gen X, Millennial, or Gen Z can offer a sense of belonging—but they can also narrow ambition and imagination. The message to “be realistic” often becomes an internalized boundary rather than a neutral observation.

Drawing on literary insight, cultural history, and lived experience, Canadian novelist Cinda Gault examines how generational expectations shape identity, influence life choices, and define unspoken limits on success and fulfillment. This topic explores the social scripts people inherit—about work, risk, creativity, and purpose—and how those scripts continue to influence decisions long after circumstances have changed.

Rather than rejecting generational identity outright, this work reframes it as context rather than destiny. By bringing inherited assumptions into view, individuals are better able to evaluate which expectations still serve them and which constrain growth and possibility.

Audiences engaging with this topic gain:

• Greater awareness of how generational narratives shape belief and behavior
• Tools for identifying limiting assumptions about success, risk, and fulfillment
• A renewed sense of agency to define possibility on their own terms

This topic appears across Cinda Gault’s keynotes, conversations, and writing, where storytelling and historical perspective are used to help audiences move beyond inherited limits and imagine lives not confined by generational boundaries.