I didn't know how...so I didn't do it

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Not knowing how to do certain things has stopped me from doing some things. Yep, Miss I'm Doing It, sometimes does not do it . I said it. I admit it. Now let me explain it. As a baby boomer I did not grow up with technology. I grew up in the era of paper and pencil, black and white television and I was the remote control. I learned how to type on a manual typewriter. I remember when I got my first electric typewriter...I thought I was so cool. I had a Walkman and a pager. The first cell phone I remember was huge. Anyone reading this remember 8-tracks?

So all of this technology that is available to us today can be scary to someone like me. My nine year old grandson can figure out something in minutes that it takes me a few days to comprehend. When I was the librarian at a school, our Kindergarten students had computer classes. They were often more advanced than I was at certain computer skills.

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So when it comes to technology I sometimes get anxious at what I don't know how to do and so I do NOTHING!

This is not a good thing when you have stuff to do. Now don't get me wrong, I don't just sit around and moan about what I don't know. I take workshops, I read, I attend Youtube University. And eventually I get it. It just takes me longer. I get frustrated. I take a lot of notes. I ask a lot of questions. Thank God for my younger friends who patiently explain for yet the 20th, 30th, 40th time how to do something on Mailchimp or Eventbrite. I'm inclined to think that Zoom is the devil sometimes. But I keep working at it.

I wrote about this today because earlier this week I wasted a lot of time trying to maneuver during a Zoom meeting, how to share my screen on a FB live and how to create my newsletter on Mailchimp. (All of which I have done before) I don't want other women to allow what they don't know how to do to stop them from doing the things they want to do. I don't let the fact that I don't understand how to do certain things stop me from sharing what I do know. It used to bother me so much that I could not pick up things as quickly as others that I would not do the thing I need to do. I remember how scared I was the first time I did a conference call. I muted everyone and prayed nobody asked a question and I would need to unmute them. I was so afraid I would disconnect the call. I stopped feeling ashamed a long time ago. I either have somebody else do it or I keep asking, keep trying until I get it. And I am like a happy kid when I finally get it right.

I have a Virtual Assistant to do things for me, but sometimes I just want to do it myself. I want that knowledge. And I think it's a little pride thing. I want to know that I can do it. My advice to the women out there who are like me, kind of afraid of technology, afraid that you will break it, just know that you won't. You might lose some documents and have to redo them (that's a whole other topic) But don't let your lack of knowledge stop you from doing the things you want to do. Don't get intimidated when you see someone else catching on and keeping up. Do the best you can and keep learning. And know this...once you get it all down and you know what you are doing, it will change. Technology is always changing. I look at it this way...It keeps me young. Keeps my brain working.

So when you hear words that sound like a foreign language to you (algorithm, hashtags, keywords, funnels, snapchat, etc.) don't get frustrated. Head to YouTube University or grab the young person in your life. I guarantee they can tell you what they mean.

We got this sis!