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We have reached the final page of THE SUBDUER’S MANUAL. Let’s review how we got here.
In the first section, “THE CERTAIN PROBLEM”, we learnt that our world of technology is a pervasive and largely invisible system whose invisibility facilitates and encourages dishonesty, is riddled with addictive data farms, has no regard for your well-being (though it pretends to) and coerces you to devalue yourself in service to the objectives of corporations.
In this second section, “THE POTENTIAL SOLUTION”, we considered how to orient and equip ourselves to use technology on our own terms. There have been four steps thus far:
- Recalibrate - Fix your starting point.
- Begin - Make practical changes, at whatever your level of ability.
- Assess - Develop your own filters for considering the tech you should use.
- Reconsider - Try some alternatives.
As I wrote this summary, I wondered to myself if there was an acronym I could use to help make the above four steps easy to remember. RBAR. Hmmm, nothing there. Wait. ReBAR. ReBAR?! Are you kidding me? You mean, the stuff that’s used in virtually all modern buildings to reinforce concrete? ReBAR it is. I could metaphor this to death, but I won’t.
And now we conclude at our final step. SUBDUE.
SUBDUE. The supreme verb. What does it mean to SUBDUE? To SUBDUE is to remember who you are, that you are in charge of your space and to establish personal non-negotiables accordingly. It is to control your space and to protect your precious mind. It is to identify what should belong to you and to resolve to take hold of it. It is to tread confidently in a world of endless options and to know what never can—and what never should—be yours. It is to remember that you were once taught as a child that peer pressure is to be resisted. It is to defend that which needs to be guarded and to attack whatever (or whoever) dares to overstep.
What does it mean to SUBDUE YOUR TECH? To SUBDUE YOUR TECH is to face this technology-infused world head on and develop a personal strategy that enables you to thrive. Simply put, it is to put all the preceding steps into practice (ReBAR, remember).
And that is about all I have to say.
Final words
As I sign off, I give my sincere thanks to anyone who reached this point and stuck with me.
To the eye-rolling hate-readers, I am now in your head and you can’t get rid of me.
To those with whom this message resonates, keep going. You’re well on your way to becoming a SUBDUER and I am honoured to have been part of your journey. Now take the tech in your life and make it your servant. Make it yield. Make it yours. Free your time. Free your mind. You can do it. You deserve it.