What a world we live in. It gets faster and faster. So much to see and to learn just to keep up with what we already know. Technology is advancing so swiftly we almost have to relearn what used to be simple.

Remember when you picked up a telephone and made a call by pressing a few buttons? With smart phones, you need to be technologically savvy to know which button to press to get you to the phone portion.

Not to mention how to find a contact phone number or address you spent hours trying to deduce how to input in the first place.

Don’t get me wrong. I love technology and what it allows us to do. But wasn’t it supposed to make our lives easier? I think our lives are more complicated.

Remember when we were told the news about your business would spread by word of mouth, by the yellow pages, by local newspapers. Trying to build a business the old-fashioned way is a recipe for disaster. Now you use Facebook, Yelp, Twitter, the internet and its search engines.

Television networks are intent on changing their broadcast equipment from videotape to server-based technology so tape becomes a thing of the past. This is to make broadcasting quicker, easier, cheaper. Anyone in the industry will tell you this has not been the case. The servers aren’t stable enough, and so they are forced to run servers and videotape. Consequently, they are not reducing staff or technology investment. They do say, however, it won’t be long until they have their technology and costs where they need to be.

Spinning Heads

Can you imagine what it must be like to work in this kind of constantly evolving technology? You never know whether you will have a job the next day. With all of the younger kids around who have grown up never knowing a day without a man in space, or a microwave, or CD player, or MP3 player or computer, to them this technology is second nature. and using it comes as naturally to them as breathing. Older persons who grew up without a microwave or a computer must work doubly hard to keep up.

Remember when you had a cashier checking out your purchases at the grocery? Now you can scan and bag your own without having to talk to anyone. Remember when a gas station was not self-serve?

Trying to find a job is certainly a lot different from before. Have you noticed how the Los Angeles Times employment section is very, very, small. Now it is all done on the internet with computer logarithms scanning multiple resumes for “key words” that will cause the computer search to highlight your resume instead of someone else’s.

I am not bewailing my fate and being left behind in a flood of new technology. I only am acknowledging that change is an every day part of life.

The Human Factor

Everything we ever have seen or done and learned is stored clearly within our subconscious. We have created our own habit patterns based on the decisions we have made. We are exactly where we are meant to be, whether we like it or not. If we don’t like it, we need to remember we have no one to blame other than ourselves.

Like tying a shoelace or learning to eat with a knife and fork, none of us was born knowing these things. Some things we learned were good, some bad. But everything is stored within our subconscious. If we choose to ignore the changes in technology, that is our choice. What would we miss? Would our lives be better or worse? Only you can know.

It is important to acknowledge what you want to keep up with, and what you have no desire to be part of. Again, your choice.

As social animals, we like to be around others. We like to be liked. We like to be helpful and recognized for what we do. We must keep that in mind. To work with technology is to help us to stay in contact with each other. To have access to all of that the information helps us make informed decisions.

When video communication with computers was in its infancy, I was talking to my cousin about how my brother in San Diego and I had linked up. We were able to see and talk to each other. That was pretty darned amazing. My skeptical cousin and said that was fine but a vital component was missing. She reached out and held my hand. “That,” she said.

For a long time my cousin shunned technology. But when her daughter moved to South Africa and her son to Australia, she became a fan of computers and Skype in particular. She is in constant video contact with her children. Although she cannot touch them, seeing and talking to them is “a pretty darned good second.”

Soon, I am sure, the technology used by universities and scientists, which allows them to touch from a distance will become available to consumers, opening still another era in human interaction.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me by telephone, 310.204.3321, or by email at nickpollak@hypnotherapy4you.net. See my website at www.hypnotherapy4you.net