I used to have a love-hate relationship with technology; I needed it to grow my business and it gave me access to seemingly infinite possibilities. But I believed I had a force-field around me that caused programs to crash and code to malfunction. I would hit "download" 12 times and not know where to find the file. Saved files were lost in cyberspace. I was forever needing passwords that I couldn't remember
. I created "links", but they went nowhere. I wrote scheduled emails that wouldn't send when they were supposed to. So much time was spent creating a single social media post and then it would disappear. I unknowingly created 3 different accounts on the same platform... and then wondered why I couldn't find my saved work.
When I started my Life Coaching business, I had to use technology to promote my business, find clients and communicate with them. My eyes ached, tears fell, and my head pounded as I tried to understand how online calendars, email lists, social media and marketing programs worked. And then I tried a different approach. I slowed down my brain. Instead of clicking furiously around a page, I paid attention to where each "button" took me. I sought help from those who had more understanding than I did; aka, other coaches and my husband. I watched how-to videos on YouTube. I paid attention to what I named files and where I saved them (yeah, I didn't even know how to do that). I recorded passwords in a locked document. But mostly, I stopped telling myself "I can't do this". I started telling myself, "I'm smart enough to figure this out." When I slowed down, my understanding sped up. When I started feeling frantic, I noticed it and instead of reacting to it, I learned from it. Slowly, I built my ability to work with technology instead of believing it was working against me. But it took months, YEARS, of not giving up. I still have a lot to learn, and I will, with time. But there's no rush, because slowing down serves me better.
Remember that registration ends tomorrow, October 25th for our CHAOS to Calm Retreat on November 4th. You can register here.
With Love and Calm for your technological endeavors,
Meredith
P.S. This song really helps me slow down when my brain is in hyper-drive.