We are in a constant state of needing to get the latest version of updates. They pop up on our computer late at night, show up as little icons on our smart phones, and even come the old-fashioned way — in the mail. But not the electronic updates we have grown accustomed to with the technology we have now embraced…a different kind of updates. There are updates that sound like lose weight 2.0 and defy age 4.1. Maybe you even want to get the app called “MapMyJourney” too. But there will be a new “tweak” sometime in the future and you will want the most updated information. There is another update. Another upgrade. Yet a new way to be current. But those apps I just mention don’t exist…but maybe they will someday.
I don’t know about you, but sometimes it can be very overwhelming.
It seems like a catch-22 as we run around in circles, even chasing the tail we never will. Part of me understand that I need to find ways to constantly make my self better but yet I know I will never be satisfied because it is also a goal I will never reach. We work hard at living our best lives, trying to make sure that we are as current as we can be. That never-ending struggle of having the most current iPhone or Playstation becomes obsolete almost before the factory warranty expires. Know what I mean? And the crazy part is the way our society reacts to the modernization of everything. Because we seek improvements in our homes, in our cars, and in ourselves, we feel challenged to find a way to be better tomorrow than we were the day before.
I know I do that. I strive to do something different today that makes me a better person…something that changes me or influences someone else in a positive way…anything to help me feel better about who I am. I feel the same things you do when the reminder pops up — whether it be on my computer, my phone, or just in my head. The constant ticking of an alarm clock, sending me a signal to do check my status and look for updates. And what happens if I put my mouse cursor on “remind me in an hour”? Sound like something you do too? How many times can iTunes need to be changed? Don’t you just feel like saying, “Can you get it right the first time?” I can feel the frustration even now — when I don’t take the chances given to me or use my time wisely enough to enhance what I already have. I kick myself for missing opportunities that I could have taken advantage of and shake my head in disgust…at myself.
Any of you feel like that too?
How many times have we hit the snooze button for five more minutes of sleep before we get up for our jaunt to the gym? Who has taken the elevator only to get to their floor and wished they had taken the stairs to begin with? Ever told yourself that you won’t stoop to another’s level and before you know it, you are throwing out hurtful words just like they are? Do you ever feel like you give and give and it is still never enough?
Don’t you just want to put your face in a pillow and just scream?
Believe me, I love the challenge. I run to turmoil. I welcome the difficulty. I try to work smarter and not harder but I feel like just when I get into open water and can take a few strokes to really get moving, something holds me back. Not down…back. Some of it cannot be helped. I don’t like it, but I understand it. We are in this perpetual spin of needing to be at the top of our game while still seeking to get there.
Why do we do this?
Our reasons are just as unique as we are. In fact, some of us never even spend another second on making ourselves better — we just accept our oldest version and convince others of its newness. Imagine what people would say if we showed people our “real” cell phone where the battery weighed about as much as a brick and we had to pull up the antenna just to make it work? People would think it was a prop for a show. How many of us feel like we are missing something because we don’t have the latest tablet with all the latest apps, most current music playing devices, etc? Who hasn’t downloaded a game of Angry Birds or 2048 just to make our waiting for a table in a restaurant more tolerable? Remember when we talked to each other or even colored the kiddie menu while we waited for the food to arrive?
Another spin…
How many of us have downloaded an update only for it to make things worse than it was before? With five people in my house, we upgraded the iTunes program on our home computer and the next thing I knew, none of our apple id’s were working with the passwords we had for our accounts. Then, when we reset the passwords for our own accounts, the emails were sent to everyone else’s accounts. UGH! Needless to say, we had to share our passwords just so we could reset them again, hoping that it would be correct. Who hasn’t been bombarded with dumb ads that just pop up after you reach a certain level of Candy Crush? Who would have thought that we would need to have rules and security questions in place so kids didn’t “pay” for more lives for whatever game they just downloaded? I would tell you what they play, but I am sure that I am already out of date with what is popular.
Our society will never go back to one without the software upgrades, the website enhancements, or the latest way to send a picture in a tweet. Time is change and as time progresses, we only have one choice that will keep us at the top of our game. Our brains are eternally needed to be stimulated with new information, the latest know-how and we have the gadgets to help us get there.
The question is…are you ready for the updates? Are you ready to be your BEST self and work hard every day, even if it means you will have to do it all over again tomorrow? Even if you have nothing to show for it right now? Are you the one holding yourself back from unleashing your greatest power because you are afraid of bugs and mistakes that you might have to admit exist? So what! We all have them! Get into the game, people! You decide what you download and how you use it to boost up your life? Don’t settle. I would much rather see real and trying than fake and never tried. Show me what you’ve got!
Michelle A. Homme 2014 ©
