Technology in our daily lives is driven by information: data. We leave traces everywhere. The companies that lead in today’s world, lead a business model in adaptation to us and our behavior, our tastes and habits that, as human beings, leads us to depersonalize our human nature and create a new capitalist robot nature.
Our nature keeps changing, but we never change completely and not necessarily evolving. By dissociating our “human” nature we create a division inside, which at some point, can create problems for us if we do not raise awareness about it.
The (digital) world invades us more and more with its operation perfectly adapted to our lives; the so famous “customer centricity” that well implemented, makes our lives easier (at someone else’s convenience). But who can resist receiving your groceries in less than 1 hour? To order something with just one click and have it in less than 24 hours? To have everything at our disposal, without moving from our armchair?
Many people have discovered these and many other wonders that digital and omnichannel companies put in our hands and, taking advantage of this time we have been at home for Covid-19, has been more than proven its relevance.
And it is precisely these pleasures that lead us to forget our human essence. Behind all this, there is a credit card or credit cards to pay, a job (often remote) and hours of capitalist distraction in the virtual stores of many retailers. So what time do we see the world around us? Now everything is virtual and digital and these companies have created a new experience and a ‘new normal’ without having to move our bodies.
I don’t mean to take away merit, nor deny that they adapt to our needs. The problem is not them, it is us. Who has not learned to live with the digital, we are the people. We have allowed and ‘forced’ these resources to replace more and more of our work due to laziness and comfort. We are the ones who decided to forget our human nature and experience and change it for a human-bot nature.
Contradictorily, it is our very nature that has put us here. Our ambitious nature of ‘needing’ to have it all, envy, greed and letting ourselves compete for what we don’t have and aspire to feel better with what doesn’t belong to us (yet).
So, what do we do?
As with everything involving people, there is no one right answer. What is for me is probably not for you, and that’s fine. However, there are some tips to follow so that digital becomes part of our tools, and not us one of theirs, “human-bots“:
- Conect with you
The first step is to review your current emotional status. As if you were taking yourself into “service”. How do you feel, are you where you want to be, what do you need?
Our emotions drive much of our attitude and vision.
A good way to do this is meditation. Just a few minutes a day to re-vision your inner self can be enough.
- Program yourself in your vision
Don’t have one yet? Take the time to develop a definition of yourself. Include what you like, how you are, (if you want to be different, write the “how you are” as if you are already that new version of you). This vision will be your compass that will guide your actions. It will help you evaluate if your day to day life is flowing the way you want it to.
- Synchronize with your body
Unlike your Smartphone, your body has no replaceable parts, nor will you get a new one and your new contract. You have 1 single contract and 1 single body that has to last for the entire term of the ‘indefinite’ contract, i.e. your life. It is also up to each person to prolong or shorten the duration, or try to reduce the variables that will dictate it. Your body is a machine and needs the right fuel.
Change your eating habits, get active. You can start with 15 minutes a day, give up soda, etc. Small actions count for a lot.
- Upgrade your mind
Study. Enjoy yourself and enjoy the world around you, learn from it. Document yourself, fill yourself with theoretical foundations that nurture ideas and opinions. Get to know other people, other worlds from their wisdom. Learn new things, feel challenged, how about a new language?
- Plot indicators and measure them
Every day review how you did. Build clear benchmarks that you can easily find and confront. No matter the result, the good part is that you will always have a new opportunity to start again.
We come to this world to enjoy, to behave as people and thus, to admire the most beautiful things of our essence and of the world. Enjoy what the world has for you. Whether it is digital or not, as long as you are in contact with you and you are the one in charge, everything will be fine.
Don’t let time or life pass you by. Don’t turn it into a cipher. Don’t go digital. Let’s humanize digital.
Enjoy the digital, enjoy yourself.
