By Jonathan Broekman
Dear valued clients and friends,
Imagine a world where your cellphone no longer has apps. No scrolling through screens, searching for the right icon or opening one application after another. Instead, you simply tell your device what you want to do, and artificial intelligence works out the rest. You want to send someone a message, arrange a meeting or find a piece of information. You just speak.
It sounds rather far removed from how most of us use our phones today, doesn't it? Yet this is the sort of future Elon Musk recently discussed on the Joe Rogan podcast, suggesting that within five or six years, our phones could work very differently from the devices we know now. Only a few days later Elon previewed his new Tesla Roadster which travels from 0-100kmh in under 1 second and can also stick upside down and fly.
Whether that prediction proves accurate remains to be seen, but it got me thinking about just how quickly the world around us is changing. Things we once regarded as futuristic are becoming everyday possibilities, and keeping up with what comes next can feel like a full-time job in itself.
Which brings me to a word I've been thinking about lately: calibration.
We tend to talk about recalibration when something has gone wrong and needs correcting. But perhaps calibration is something we should rather be doing all the time. Our circumstances change, our priorities shift and, before we know it, we can find ourselves reacting to whatever demands our attention rather than stopping to consider whether we're still heading in the right direction.
Keeping Up With Change
Technology is changing how we work, communicate and make decisions. There is no point in pretending otherwise, nor do I think we should resist every new development simply because it is unfamiliar. Many of these advances will make our lives easier.
But I sometimes wonder whether, in our efforts to keep up with what is coming next, we give enough thought to what we actually want from it. Just because something can be done faster doesn't necessarily mean it is more important. And just because a new tool can do something for us doesn't mean we should stop thinking about why we're doing it in the first place.
Perhaps we don't need to understand every development immediately. We need to remain open to change, recognise what is useful and be thoughtful about what we allow to shape our lives.
What We Choose to Keep
This brings me to something else I've been thinking about: the idea of choice.
The recent East of Eden series on Netflix reminded me of a theme that has endured for generations - that, even when circumstances are beyond our control, we retain choice in how we live and the decisions we make.
Technology may change the way we communicate, but it cannot decide the quality of communication and care we show someone. It may help us work faster, but it cannot determine what deserves our time. And while the world around us will continue to change, values such as kindness, integrity and consideration for others remain ours to practise.
October also gives us an opportunity to pause and think about something so important - Breast Cancer. Breast Cancer Awareness Month reminds us to make time for our health, to be mindful of the importance of checks and early detection and to support those living with the disease. We also remember those we have lost and those who continue to live with its effects.
It is a reminder that some of the most important things in life are also the easiest to put off while we attend to everything else.
Perhaps this is what calibration really comes down to. Not making one grand adjustment and assuming everything will fall into place, but regularly checking that the way we live still reflects what we value.
We cannot control every change coming our way nor do we need to have all the answers. But we can pay attention, make considered choices and adjust where necessary without losing sight of what matters.
The world will keep changing. I suspect the challenge is to make sure we don't lose ourselves while trying to keep up with it.
Warm regards,
Jonathan Broekman
Principal, Homes of Distinction
