Stuck In Our Ways

It’s a stereotype that boomers are not big fans of change - nothing new, right? Well, sometimes it’s not just them…it’s all of us in certain areas of our lives. 

Yesterday, this 38-year-old felt very stuck in my ways with our bank. Yes, our bank.

Banks have come a long way over the years. From having to actually get out of the car and walk into the bank and talk to a teller to their drive-thrus, to the  ATMs, to mobile deposits, and now live tellers.

Personally, I love to get out and go inside the bank or go through the drive-thru that has an actual person. Maybe it’s because some days that’s my only adult, in-person conversation 😅

On Monday morning I dropped Ellie off at school and needed to deposit a check. I drove through town and pulled into Hawthorn Bank (yes, shout out!)  to see that the drive-through didn’t open for another 10 minutes. I could’ve waited that 10 minutes, but Gracie did not want to wait any more minutes, and with our recent move it takes longer to get home and I had a meeting coming up.

 So, I backed up and pulled into the lane with a live teller. 

I’m not gonna lie…for some reason, I was a little nervous! What button do I push, will they mess it up, bah!

So, I pushed the button and within a couple of minutes, this woman popped up on the screen! She had me insert the check, confirmed the account, and sent me on my way with a printed receipt. It was wild, but it was the easiest thing to do! I was on my way before the actual bank even opened and bonus, Gracie was chill. 

I thought to myself, why have I been fighting to do this? It wasn’t hard. I mean, they wouldn’t make this hard if it’s for the general public, right?! Again I think it’s the real-life conversation is truly a part of it!

This morning we had another check to deposit and I didn’t twice about getting to the bank before it was open. I dropped Ellie off, drove straight to the bank, pushed the button, did my business with Ariel, and was on my way. 

This got me thinking about how we sometimes fight against new things. Things that feel different. Things that maybe don’t feel the safest to our brains. Our mind loves to stay comfortable, and so when we push it past its comfort zone it wants to freak out. 

So, taking the time to figure out a new technology, a new system, or a new whatever may get pushed off (unconsciously) even if we know it could be beneficial for us. Ever had this happen? 

That might look like enrolling for mobile deposit (which I also did, gasp!), signing up for an online calendar to schedule your meetings, or hiring somebody to help you with some of the tasks for your business. We fight it until we get to a point where it’s causing friction in our business, causing annoyance, causing frustration, or sucking our mental energy. 

This doesn’t mean we need to delegate or systematize every single aspect of our life, but for those tasks that cause the issues above…highly recommend it! Get curious about what’s causing you to not move forward and then take the small step to start the process. 

I’d love to know what a task is that you loathe doing, but have yet to hand it over to someone or something else to handle!