It’s not
easy keeping up in a digital world.
You take
off for a week - to a location where internet service is unstable - not to
mention expensive. The withdrawal gives you the shakes. You find yourself distracted in conversation, your hand keeps reaching for that iPhone, certain there is
something important happening inside of it that you can’t get to. You worry
your business might suffer and no one will sign up for your June workshops because you are suddenly absent from Twitter and
haven’t blogged in a week. That fear you are missing out on something happening
somewhere else is getting in the way of where you are. You keep hearing Agapi and her sister Arianna Huffington reminding you of what their mother used to say - “don’t miss the moment” - but you
realize you probably are anyway.
It takes
a few days and slowly but surely, the stress subsides. The sunshine, the blue skies,
the sand and the sound of the ocean win out. The views are breathtaking. A
camera cannot do it justice.
Everywhere you turn you are surrounded by family and friends, some new,
some old. There is laughter and conversation - the live and in person kind -
not the texting kind. Joy and love fills the air - after all you are here to
celebrate the marriage of two wonderful young people who found their soul
mates. You dance under the stars to a live band and feel transported to that time not so long ago - before technology had overrun your life and it was still possible to hide from the rest of the world.
You come
back - relaxed and tan and happy and yes - a little bit excited to sit in front
of your computer and catch up and get back to the work you love.
But within
hours you’re overwhelmed.
There are 500 unopened emails in your inbox, most of
which are junk, but you have to go through anyway in case an important one is
hidden in the bunch. You vow to unsubscribe to them all even though you know
you won’t. Your page views on your blog have shrunk. All those creative ideas
that were running through your head on what to write next while you were
sitting under the shade of an umbrella negotiating with a local for that
multicolored sarong with the sequins that caught your eye has suddenly
disappeared into the ether. LinkedIn reminds you it has “been 8 days…since your
last update. Share something new to stay top of mind.” The 8 days are written
in bold red.
You start
to wonder if you really do love all this technology as much as you think you do. You
question if you can really keep up or if you even want to.
Then you
sign on to Facebook and notice you have new friend requests from the people you just met. Those same people are sharing pictures from the big group vacation
instigated by this destination wedding. People are commenting and liking and you
get to relive each moment.
You can’t stop smiling.
And you remember - this is why you keep
up. This is why you love all these social networks and digital tools. For the
connections that get to continue when face to face is not an option.
Registration for Your Digital You - the blueprint -
Grab your seat now!
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