Skills I used to be good at
I had to learn to be good at all these things:
- Making airline reservations.
- Manipulating frequent flyer miles.
- PowerPoint slide transitions
- Analog hi-fi connections
- Ventura Publisher
- Revising my résumé
- Getting girls interested in dating me
- Sleeping on the floor
- Meeting milestones to maximize my quarterly corporate bonus
- Reading stories to toddlers
- Writing term papers
- Reading paper maps
- Solving indefinite integrals
None of these skills are useful now, nor are they likely to be in the future.
However . . .
The eagerness to learn new skills and the joy of learning remain.
And that is always going to be useful.
Keep a supple and flexible mind and you’ll never get old.
Amen to this! All of these obsolete skills were instrumental in making you who and what you are – not unlike the booster that launches a rocket into space, which is disengaged and discarded once the rocket reaches orbit. You couldn’t have done it without the booster. The same is true for every one of us, although the obsolete skill list for each of us is different.
I’m pretty sure your wife won’t mind your lack of proficiency in getting girls interested in dating you.
I also transitioned from a Delta Diamond to a retired (mostly Southwest) leisure traveler who prioritizes direct flights and multiple flights to the same destination over points and loyalty to a rewards program. Can still read a map but don’t need to thanks to Waze and Google Maps, thinks AI is overhyped but explores MidJourney and ChatGPT to understand the state of the art, developed my own film but loves shooting on iPhone and mirrorless digital (no chemicals just pop the card into the computer and start working), PowerPoint presentations now are only at my local photo club. I could go on but you are so right! The love of learning and staying active is what matters not hanging on to old skills and the “badges of office” of your old success. My wife says I make pretty good coffee too. #retired #lovinglife