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Keep Your Tools Sharp
Richard Rost 
          
32 days ago
Let's continue our conversation on learning and growth.

One thing I've noticed over the decades I've been working in tech is how quickly skills can fade if you don't keep using them. And in today's world, where technology evolves faster than a warp core breach, staying still is the same as falling behind.

What got you here will not get you there.

The programming language or tool you mastered ten years ago might still work, but if you haven't kept up with the latest techniques or modern best practices, you might be missing out on better ways to get things done. Even with Microsoft Access, which is one of the more stable tools out there, I'm still discovering new ways to build better databases, cleaner forms, and smarter VBA code.

Skills decay. That's not a judgment, it's just reality. If I took a break from VBA or SQL for six months, I'd forget little things too. Muscle memory fades. Techniques slip. That's why continuous learning isn't optional.

Even for things you think you know well, revisiting them with a fresh set of eyes can bring clarity. It's like rewatching a classic Star Trek episode you loved as a kid. You pick up on things you missed the first time, subtle messages, character arcs, deeper meanings. Same goes with Access. I've said this before, but sometimes even I look at old code that I wrote ten years ago and wonder, "What the hell was I thinking?"

You don't have to learn everything at once. Just keep evolving. Tinker. Try new tools. Explore new ideas. Watch a tutorial, test something new, or teach what you know to someone else. Teaching is one of the best ways to keep your own skills sharp. I started getting much better at this stuff once I started teaching it to other people.

So whether it's tech, fitness, or your own personal development, remember this:

Stagnation is the real enemy. Keep moving, keep growing, keep evolving. Otherwise, you'll just get swallowed up as the world passes you by. You'll just be one of the stagnant masses, glued to their smartphones all zombie-like. It's almost as if... you'll be... assimilated...

LLAP
RR
Richard Rost OP  @Reply  
          
32 days ago

Sam Domino  @Reply  
     
28 days ago
100% agree!  I like to take "beginner's classes" because there is always something "new" that I learn, whether it is a new capability Devs have added to software, new/more efficient algorithms, or just getting a better understanding of "old" functions/commands/etc.  

I read an article on retirement that discussed the findings of a study done on retirement and death.  It found that if you retire and do nothing but sit around, you die sooner than people who keep learning and doing!  

Keep learning/moving as if your life depends on it, because it does!
Richard Rost OP  @Reply  
          
28 days ago
I saw an article like that not too long ago too - about how a lot of guys retire and then they just sit at home puttering in the garage or whatever, don't know what to do with themselves, and they end up dying not too long after that. I always assumed it was their wives killing them, but it could be just a lack of something to do, lol. Maybe that's why so many old codgers pick up golf.
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