Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Requiem

Crisis of confidence. I am unsure how to rescue my self worth. Time was, I would sail through life knowing I could do anything if I put my mind to it, but nowadays I am never sure. Job adverts call but I block my own chances with doubt and never even apply. Ideas flood at work but I fear the negative response of my employers and carry on, plodding, without achieving anything remarkable. I have hit mediocrity on my way down and will probably soon be beyond repair. The skills I have, the ones I have practised and polished for decades, are no longer valued. Who cares that I can craft a sentence well or even spell? They have machines that do it now, although they cannot tell the difference between wood, would, wooed and wowed. They even think that color is correct, and ax, center, sympathize and split infinitives, but no-one cares. My knowledge is dismissed as irrelevant today. I am a dinosaur, a dodo, and my skill set is redundant because my mindset (apparently) is wrong.

6 comments:

snafu said...

Sounds like you still know something worthy of respect. Good written English is still around and necessary. Think of the need for clear contracts, foreigners who need to learn English correctly before they learn how to corrupt it and of course most regular readers who enjoy a well written book are more often than not from an age when most modern forms of bad English had not been at all acceptable. Anyway you writers have had it easy, I worked in the electronics industry and my 'leading edge' knowledge would become redundant every two years or so.

Sandra Davies said...

It's happening at all levels isn't it? - I was mighty miffed when we changed from Imperial to decimal weights and measures - seemed like a lifetime's learning and, more importantly, experience counted for nought.
I'm out of the job market now, and can only suggest, as a theoretical possibility, that if you are constantly being denigrated in your current job then it IS time to go elsewhere, not matter how hard the initial step.
Saddened by this especially because your values are ones I too hold very dear.

Akelamalu said...

I know exactly what you mean. Just before I retired I despaired of the new office staff who couldn't spell and wouldn't know good grammar if it bit them on the bum! Hell even some of the teachers couldn't spell! :(

snafu said...

I have been asked to pass on a message via Elizabeth, from Hilary of 'Positive Letters' to tell you that she cannot email and cannot get through.

MorningAJ said...

This is a test comment. I'm hoping that changing to a pop up will solve the prolem that some people are having with comments on my blog!

The Whinging Ginger said...

It'll let me comment now. Hurrah!