This Baby Boomer Is Adjusting

I look back over the last several years at communication and its changing landscape and I have to give myself credit for adjusting.  I remember when I didn’t know the difference between email and www!  When do you use @ and when do you use .com?   It took me a while to finally ‘get it’. And here I am blogging as a way of sharing a few thoughts to an online readership. I may  actually reach 1000s with this simple message.  Now, that’s amazing.

All of this is just one example of how ‘my generation’ has had to adjust to change.  And, in many cases, it’s not been easy for us to maneuver.  Our kids prefer text over conversation.  People walk the streets with plugs in their ears, a smart phone in hand with little regarding to passing pedestrians, red lights or honking horns.  I now have a smart phone that is smarter than I am.  I get messages instead of phone calls. Need to know tomorrow’s weather?  Right there in my phone.    Of course, all of this is in the name of progress.  Times are changing.  Technology is designed to make life easier. And, for me, and many of my generation, we miss the good ‘ole days.  (Sound familiar when your parents said the same thing?) 

I grew up in Hartford, CT.  My mom (now 91 years young) spoke to everyone wherever we went.  She’d always be ‘bumping’ into people she knew – post office, bakery, gas station, grocery store.  My brothers and I used to laugh that she could run for city mayor because everyone knew my mom.  That’s the example I had.  You talk with people.  You find out about their family.  You helped when needed. You cared. And, others cared about you. Hence, another adjustment the Baby Boomer has had to make.  We’ve learned to deal with a face paced life style, over-crowded roadways and lack of common courtesy.  Ever notice how few people actually hold open a door to let you pass through?  Ever notice how ‘thank you’ seems to have disappeared.  These are just other indicators that adjusting to a changing world has impacted us.

Change produces progress.  There is no progress without change.  It’s life.  Baby Boomers are benefitting from a lot of changes in spite of the ones that leave us baffled as to why the familiar ever left!  I’m happy knowing that my grandkids are smarter, better adjusted and comfortable with today’s technology.  The competency required for tomorrow’s workplace are ones they are learning now. That being said, I’m also concerned that the skills necessary to communicate effectively, write legibly and get along with others are taking a back seat.  I guess time will tell.  My mom has had to adjust with the changing times.  If she can at her age, I guess I can at mine.  If you’re a Baby Boomer, I’d love your feedback.  If not, just appreciate that adjusting to your world has not been easy.  We are working on it.

Are you a professional woman learning today’s skills for tomorrow’s workforce? Imagine the life you deserve; we can get you there. Go to YOUR LEARNING LIBRARY.

Bonnie Ross-Parker, CEO/Founder of Xperience Connections.  www.BonnieRossParker.com