If You Must Be Relevant!

Have you ever tried to explain how to navigate a popular app to a friend or an older person and felt in your mind that "everyone knows this"?

We have all been there. You watch someone struggle to swipe, tap, or find a setting, and a wave of impatience washes over you. To you, the interface feels intuitive, almost second nature. But here is the hard truth: it appears easy to you not because the app itself is inherently simple, but because you likely started using it when its features were still few and far between. You grew with the technology.

This is the invisible barrier between generations of tech users. The best time to start using any new technology is when it first emerges. The learning curve is gentle because you are learning alongside the developers. The second-best time? It is right now, the moment you actually need it.

Yet, many of us resist. Sometimes it is tempting to feel that you are "cheating" by using smarter tools. We romanticize the "hard way," believing it is more authentic or sustainable. Other times, we convince ourselves that the new way is just a fad and won't last. It is this exact mindset—this hesitation and skepticism—that causes so many to be left behind whenever technology advances.

History has a clear, unforgiving lesson on this. Not too long ago, students pursuing business administration and office technology management dedicated entire courses to typewriting. They spent hours mastering the mechanics of those old, heavy typewriter machines, learning to align paper and correct errors with whiteout.

Now, imagine graduating at the top of your class in that era, armed with 90 words-per-minute on a typewriter, only to refuse to adopt the modern computer and word processor. Imagine looking at a keyboard connected to a screen and thinking, "This digital way may not be sustainable," or "I prefer the clunky, manual method."

How relevant would you be in a modern office? The answer is sobering. You wouldn't be. The world would have moved on without you, leaving your hard-earned skill collecting dust next to the very machines you mastered.

This same pattern is repeating itself today, but now the disruptor is Artificial Intelligence. Across nearly every profession, AI tools are changing what it means to be skilled and productive. The choice to embrace them or ignore them will determine who stays relevant and who gets left behind.

Let us look at a few examples.

In the creative field: Imagine a graphic designer who spends hours sketching concepts from scratch. That is dedication. But another designer learns to use tools like Midjourney. They type in a few descriptive sentences, and within seconds, the AI generates dozens of visual ideas based on their description. The first designer might feel the second one is cheating. But here is the reality: the second designer is not replacing their creativity; they are amplifying it. They use AI to handle the heavy lifting of generating options, then apply their trained eye to refine and perfect the best ones. Which designer do you think will deliver more value to clients? Which one will stay relevant?

In the legal profession: Think about the countless hours junior lawyers spend digging through old case files and legal documents. It is tedious work, but it has always been part of the job. Today, AI-powered research tools can scan millions of legal documents in moments, pulling out exactly what a lawyer needs. A lawyer who refuses to use these tools, preferring to do everything manually, will take ten times longer to prepare a case. Their firm may see them as inefficient. But the lawyer who embraces AI as an assistant frees themselves to focus on strategy, argument, and connecting with clients—the things only humans can do well. That lawyer remains invaluable.

In data analysis: There was a time when making sense of numbers meant spending weeks building charts by hand in spreadsheets. Today, tools like Tableau connect directly to data and use AI to suggest the best ways to visualize it. An analyst can even ask an AI to write complex code for them by simply describing what they need in plain English. The analyst who clings to old methods, manually crunching every number, will be stuck doing basic work. The one who embraces these new tools will be the one spotting trends, telling stories with data, and guiding business decisions. One is easily replaced; the other becomes indispensable.

In software development: Programmers used to spend hours searching forums for code snippets and debugging errors line by line. Now, tools like GitHub Copilot act as an AI partner. As a developer types, Copilot suggests whole blocks of code, automates repetitive tasks, and helps catch mistakes early. A developer who rejects this might feel they are protecting their craft. But in truth, they are slowing themselves down. The developer who works alongside AI writes better code faster and has more mental energy left to solve the really hard problems. That is the developer every company wants to keep.

These examples, from the typing pool to the modern coding team, all point to the same truth. Technology is not just about gadgets and convenience. It is the measure of your relevance in a changing world.

Every wave of innovation—from typewriters to computers, from paper maps to GPS, from cash to digital payments, and now from manual work to AI-powered assistance—demands a choice. You can cling to what feels safe and familiar, telling yourself the new way is just a trend. Or you can step forward with curiosity, accept that the tools are changing, and learn to use them.

Nobody is saying you must abandon your expertise or your experience. Those things remain valuable. But they become even more powerful when combined with new tools. The goal is not to let technology replace you, but to let it lift you up so you can do more, be more, and stay relevant.

Do not let pride in the old way, or fear of the unknown, cost you your place in the future. The best time to start was years ago. The next best time is today.

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