Deep-Dive Discussion: Does 2026 'Have' to Suck? (Or Can We Make it Better?)

We're all hearing it... perhaps even feeling it... The New Year's festivities have been underwhelming, and it seems we're all tired of shopping! We're hearing the overplayed buzzwords "inflation", "isolation", "burnout", and any number of other verbs with "doom-" added as a prefix (e.g. "doom-spending").

And reviewing the facts and the actual state of the world, we can't ignore that many of us are indeed struggling either financially, professional, emotionally, socially, or even spiritually.

But bad times come and go. We've always had them, yet we learn so much about ourselves and our peers. That does not mean that it's easy or that it can all be resolved by reading a few self-help books or binge-watching life-improvement gurus on the Internet. But sharing our thoughts and experiences with each other can certainly keep us hopeful.

What to Expect
This will be group deep-dive discussion followed by plenty of organic social time. Let’s make it a goal to connect deeply with as many people as possible! I challenge each one of you to learn the names of anyone you speak to and try to remember something interesting about them. I don't want to hear "I'm bad with names."; choose to be better!

Your food and drink choices are up to you. I will do my best to facilitate and make sure everyone is connected and gets to know each other.

Agenda
Arrive & Gather (15 min)
Icebreaker (5 min)
Deep-Dive Group Discussion (45-75 min)

• Bad times may already be here, but it ain't the first time!
• What are the facts? How are we actually feeling?
• Could we be making ourselves feel worse?
• 'Elbow Grease': Can we take action and do stuff to ground ourselves and get our bearings straight?
• 'Jedi Mind Tricks': Ancient spiritual wisdom that we can apply every day: gratitude, introspection, talking it out (being heard!)

Free-Mingle Organically!

Where to Find Us & About the Venue
We will set up in the very nice and very private event room (see attached pictures) at This La Madeleine location in West Plano at the SW corner of the larger Park-Preston mega-intersection. Feel free to check out their menu of assorted pastries, soups, sandwiches, desserts, teas, and coffee with plenty of budget options. There is plenty of space to continue to hang out and mingle even after the official end of the event!

About The 3rd Place
Interested in forming a larger social alliance with your local peer group not involving a loud and dingy bar, a preachy religious space, or a corporate "mask"? Do you have existential or societal questions that you can't explore anywhere outside of cyberspace?

Enter The 3rd Place: Gen Y & Z Social Collective, our contribution to initiate our sense of community and develop a robust social network for our long-term growth and camaraderie.

DISCLAIMER
We are NOT affiliated with any business, religious, or spiritual organizations. Our goal is to facilitate quality recurring social time between growth-oriented growing adults. We do NOT support MLM, paid mentorship/life coaching, network marketing, real-estate/entrepreneurial education, or related exploitative schemes.