I hope you have had a great start to another week! I would also like to thank you for showing up. It matters. Now that you're here, I'd like to share a perspective on choosing people over machines. Let me explain.
Lately, I have noticed an accelerated presence of self-checkouts at the grocery and department stores I regularly frequent. Automation seems to be the way for many stores to streamline and become more efficient. I get it. In our age of I-need-it-now-I'm-in-a-hurry, self-checkouts and self-service kiosks may have their rightful place. I am often in a hurry, too. But...something is lost in the transaction- something very important. I'll call that something "the human factor." Self-checkouts just don't have it. They are machines. Machines are transactional. Humans are transformational.
The self-checkout is an entirely different experience from interacting with another person, a human being. And, while not everyone may be looking to have a conversation or to exchange pleasantries every time they need to run into a store for a few items, the experience is completely different.
The other day at the grocery store (while in a hurry), I was faced with the choice: self-checkout, or "human" check out. Something inside me nudged me toward the latter. It turned out to be a great choice! I was greeted by a friendly, pleasant woman. In the few minutes it took to scan through my items, she happily shared her knowledge about a particular ingredient I was buying and offered her thoughts on how to prepare it. I left the store encouraged, uplifted, and transformed by the conversation I had with her. I would not have gotten any of that from the self-checkout kiosk. For me the "extra" 2-3 minutes of time I spent going through her checkout line were totally worth it.
This week's reflection and suggested challenge (should you choose to accept): Take a few "extra" minutes and choose people over machines the next time you are out shopping. What was your experience? Did you take an opportunity to make a connection or a difference in someone's life? Did they make a difference in yours? Did you find or share any gold nuggets?
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