November 7 – I am Grateful for…

Day 7… November 7

Today I am grateful for technology.

It is incredible to pay attention to where technology has evolved in my lifetime.

Yes, to many techies I am old…52 is practically ancient!

And that’s okay! So just a quick look at the changes technology has provided.

Communication was in person, on the wired telephone attached to the wall, paying lots of money for long distance phone calls, or written correspondence in the mail.

If you wanted to “talk” to your friend during school you had to pass a note and hope you didn’t get caught. As you got older the notes could be intricately folded and deposited in the friend’s locker in case you didn’t have a chance to see them.

Computers took up multiple rooms and were way to complicated for the average person (this is my perception anyway :))

Maps were papers folded neatly to be stored in the glove compartment of your car. Multiple maps were needed for long trips.

Movies were reel to reel to be played on a projector and you needed a screen.

We typed things on our typewriter and if we made a mistake we pulled out our correction tape to “erase” the mistake.

Now what do I have?

• Multiple tvs in my home with multiple streaming services that allow me to watch an inordinate amount of content on demand.

• 2 computers that are thinner but about the size of my high school TrapperKeeper as well as a desk top computer.

• I have multiple external hard drives that store so much information I will probably never look at again along with storing old photos, and videos through generations of years.
• Cordless phones that I can use anywhere in my house, and yet no one in our house will actually answer that phone anymore. Why?
• Everyone in our house has their own cell phone and each has more internal memory than my first 3 computers combined.
• Our cell phones call long distance at little to no cost and we can avoid any cost using messaging apps to communicate instantly.
• I can (and in some ways do!!) live like George Jetson and video call people all over the world in real time.
• I work in my home office to meet with clients practically anywhere, every day, and distance has no bearing on when or how long we can meet.

• Not only that but I can meet via video with multiple people in multiple locations across the world in real time
• I can send or receive money instantly, for free, without having to go into a bank and see the teller or see the other person
• The notes passed in school are now all stored in my phone and can include, photos, videos, gifs, emojis…. and all kinds of other things that weren’t possible before
• The camera on my phone is probably better than most of the cameras that took all the “famous and historical” photos that I love.
• My watch can: be answered when someone is calling or sending me messages, measure what my heart rate is and alert me if my heart rate drops below 40 beats per minute (didn’t know that was a thing until it happened….twice! :)), keep track of how much I sleep, vibrate to wake me up or remind me to move if I am sitting too long, measure how far I run and how fast I run, tell me what the weather is outside as well as in Florida where my daughter and son-in-law live or Auckland, New Zealand where more family lives, open my garage door……….and so much more!!! All on my wrist watch!!

Technology is amazing and adds so much to my life in so many ways. And I want to be careful that it does not take over the importance for me of actual conversation, with actual people and creating real connection in my life.

---

I’m Michelle. I am learning how to minimize my overwhelm, perfectionism, and people-pleasing and I am ready to help you do the same. I’m a certified Life Coach and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Come with me and learn how.

I could go on and on but if you are reading this blog you are probably pretty aware of the power technology has in our lives. maybe you received an email alerting you that this post was available? Or maybe you were able to click a link on a post in you social media feed that took you directly to this post.
Either way, not something that was possible for me to imagine 40 years ago.