Keeping up

by Miranda Reiman

Some people dream of a cook or a maid, or perhaps a nanny or staff carpenter. I’d trade all of those for a technology manager for my family—our own personal IT guy who could make sure I had all my photos backed up, parental controls set correctly and all the necessary updates installed.

I’m probably a bad Millennial for saying that. It’s not that I dislike tech, but some days I feel I have enough to worry about without complicating my life further by introducing yet another change.

Then as I type those words, I wonder: Am I becoming my mother?

When I hear about a new time-management app, a handy way to organize my grocery list or track my finances, two thoughts come up together. “That sounds cool.” “How could this possibly save more time than it takes?”

Do you ever feel that way? A buddy starts rattling off the newest, best, greatest [insert thing here], and you feel a little bit behind. An experts talks about a new genetic tool, animal handling system or grazing strategy, and you wonder if you have the time to apply any of it.

Sometimes it all seems just a little too overwhelming to me, too. I want to throw up my hands and dig my heels in. I’ll stick to what I know, thank you.

But then there are those times I’ve been forced to change (see: cell phone that went for a swim). Other times, I’m as motivated by the advantage as I am paralyzed by the unknown, so I just take the leap.

If you’ve made big changes that have worked for the better, then you see it, too. Maybe you’ve invested in genomic testing or made renovations to your processing facility. You’ve seen the results in the calf crop or the time saved and better herd health after working cattle.

Those situations remind us, much good can come from change. We all inherently know we can’t just stand still and expect to thrive.

So how do you balance it all?

This summer a cattleman discussed his adoption of technology with me. He said he wasn’t going to be first to try the novel idea, but when there was some evidence of success, he’d be right behind those that were.

Maybe you need to hear that, too: you don’t have to be first. You don’t have to try every new thing, lest you be left in the dust. Find the ones that are most applicable and stand to do the most good.

It’s all about keeping the forward momentum going.

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