Think about the technology that you use every day. Do you completely understand it? Sure you know how to make calls on your cell phone, but do you know how to text? Do you know how to get pictures from your cell phone to our computer? Did you know that you can text a mobile phone from your email? Why are we like this? Is this even a problem, I mean the point of a cell phone is to make calls right? If you can get the job done with the knowledge that you currently have then good enough right?
Wrong. Let me give you some reasons that “knowing enough to get by” isn’t enough and never will be.
- Reason 1: If the world only ever did enough to get by we’d still be cavemen.
- Reason 2: If you only know X, then what happens when dishonest folks know X, Y, and Z.
- Reason 3: If you only know X, and the person joining the company you work for knows X, Y, and Z, then how long is your job safe in this world of technology.
- Reason 4: If you only know X, and your kids know X, Y, and Z, how will you keep them safe on the Internet.
- Reason 5: Knowing enough to get the job done gets you home by 5:00. Understanding and applying technology lets you work from home, get more done in less time, and lowers stress through increased productivity in work and life.
So you may now be totally overwhelmed. How could you possibly ever know everything about everything? Well I’ll tell you. The one nice thing about technology is that if you fully understand one thing everything else becomes easier. So you say: “Well if that’s true, then a car salesman should be able to bake a cake, and run a marathon, right?” Although impressive, and slightly comical, it is not the same.
Technology was founded on, and still uses the same basic principles for everything. Although there are thousands of devices and programs out there, they are all basically built upon the same foundation. Your TV has a settings menu right? This is where you can configure different preferences for the Television. Well guess what, so does Windows, Microsoft Word, your car radio, your cell phone, and so on. Never thought about it that way did you.
The world isn’t going to slow down the pace at which new technologies are coming at us. Just because the TV commercials say you need an iPad, doesn’t mean you actually do though. The trick here is to decide what technologies you actually do think you might want to try, by reading about them, talking to others, or asking a professional. Once you have one or two things in mind then make sure that you actually understand them. Ask questions, read the manual, make it a point to try some new things without being afraid of screwing it up. You have to realize that manufacturers won’t leave too many ways for you to screw up something beyond repair. You will be amazed that once you understand just 1 thing, how much easier understanding all the others becomes.



