This morning I asked on Twitter how many Windows XP computers my friends still have.

One friend has two that he uses all the time, another friend and his wife just upgraded last month.

Usually there is nothing wrong with sticking with the Old & Trusted.  Sometimes jumping to the New & Shiny is not the best idea.  New & Shiny can have bugs that need to be worked out and fixed.  Old & Trusted is familiar, like a reliable friend or comfy pair of jeans.

I used the Windows XP example because after 11 years, Microsoft has stopped supporting the XP version of Windows and it’s been in the news.

If your computer is using Windows XP, it won’t suddenly stop working, it’s just that Microsoft will not help you fix it anymore.  They want you to upgrade to the latest version which at this moment is Windows 8.1 and doing so will require you to learn a bunch of new things just to do the same things you’ve been doing for the past decade on your Windows XP machine.

There are plenty of practical reasons for upgrading.  First of all you will likely have to buy a new computer and new versions of software.  Your old computer cannot handle the more powerful versions of programs that you’ll need when you move up from Windows XP and it is less expensive to simply start fresh and transfer all you old documents and pictures to your new computer.

But this is not really about computers.

This is about life, habits and changes around us.

You can decide to stick with your old & trusted ways of doing things until they simply are obsolete, or you can keep pace with the uncontrollable changes and stay fresh and current.

Since I work in the advertising and marketing world, I’ll venture there for a second.

Grandpa built his business advertising in the yellow pages, and didn’t need a website.  He didn’t have email or the internet.  I’m not about to screw up the successful formula that Grandpa used to build his fortune.

Yeah, right.  Someone told me that 5 years ago.  He lost the family business less than a year later.  You have to know the difference between Old & Trusted.  You need to know the principles that are timeless and transcend the changes.

This goes beyond business, it goes beyond technology…

It could apply to friendships, or health. Any relationship or investment of time or resources

This is a matter of values and adapting. Knowing what to hang on to and what to let go of.

That’s the continuous flow of life.

 

Oh and if you really want more info on the end of Windows XP, go here: http://www.howtogeek.com/186829/how-do-you-convince-a-family-member-to-upgrade-an-old-and-possibly-compromised-system/