Nobody can really put their finger on it why it’s so, but we seem to have landed in a brave new world since the end of the pandemic lockdowns.
Strangely, everything seems to be the same and yet it’s also different.
There seems to be a lot of collective stress out there, wrapped around a lot of cynicism.
It’s surprising psychologists haven’t come out of the woodwork to explain why we are on edge, whether it’s driving to work or doing the shopping.
There were rude people you’d come across from time to time before the pandemic, but now there’s a lot more of them.
Who knows why, but it’s like a hangover from the pandemic years, possibly combined with the added stress created by technology.
You’re sitting down having a cuppa and trying to relax when a voice from your iphone or other devices will tell you it’s searching for something or rather.
Artificial intelligence, or AI, is also starting to intrude into our lives, and who knows what’s around the corner.
There’s more, but you get the picture.
It just doesn’t feel right that the humans are slowly been ruled by the machines. My gut feeling is that the time has come to get some control back in our lives.
Not being an expert, some people will laugh at my Top 5 things we need to do to make sure the machines do not end up telling us what to do.
But what the hell, they say always go with your gut, so here goes:
Number 1: Switch off our devices for one, two hours every single day, especially the ones that make us accessible to the outside world.
Number 2. Use cash as much as possible.
Number 3. Indulge in activities such as exercise – running, swimming, etc – without listening to a device.
Number 4. Go old school and read a real book, the print version that is.
Number 5. Really rebel by having one whole day a week without access to any devices.
I like all if those things except use cash as much as possible. The third way is to leave the phone at home and pay by watch. Less cash means better personal security for small business.
I don’t know how less cash is better for small businesses when they can’t operate if Telstra or Optus goes down. I always carry cash as a contingency, while Millennials cry because they can’t buy a coffee.
Cash is king. The powers that be would like us to do away with it and that would bite us in the bum. Many Aussies have already experienced the frustration of being without cash during blackouts after bushfires and needing to buy essentials! Getting back to basics in your list is certainly a good start.