When Skepticism Stops Working

Experience protects you until it starts slowing you down.

The first time I caught myself rolling my eyes at someone half my age, it bothered me more than I wanted to admit.
Not because they were wrong.
Because they weren’t.

They were explaining a faster way to do something I had spent years perfecting the long way.
My reaction was instant. Defensive. Dismissive.
I labeled it naïve in my head. Unproven. Cute.

What I didn’t say out loud was the real feeling.
I felt threatened.

Gen X grew up learning not to trust systems.
We watched institutions lie, corporations downsize loyalty, and experts get it wrong with confidence.
Skepticism became our survival skill.
It kept us sharp. It kept us employed. It kept us from getting played.

But that same instinct cost me time I cannot get back.

I remember ignoring a newer tool someone suggested.
Not because it didn’t work.
Because I didn’t want to feel stupid learning it in front of someone younger.
So I stayed with what I knew. Familiar. Slower. Safe.

Weeks later, I adopted the tool anyway.
It cut the work in half.
The only thing I lost was weeks I could not recover.

That is when clarity hit.
My skepticism was no longer protecting me from bad ideas.
It was protecting my ego.

I see it now when younger builders talk about testing instead of waiting.
Publishing before polishing.
Treating careers like experiments instead of contracts.

My instinct is still to think, slow down, pay your dues.
Their reality is different. The floor moved, the rules changed, and they adjusted faster than I did.

That does not make them reckless.
It makes them responsive.

The uncomfortable truth is this.
Gen X is not behind because we lack skill.
We are behind when we confuse experience with relevance.

The kids are not saying we are obsolete.
They are showing us a different operating system.

Clarity is not agreeing with everything new.
It is noticing when resistance comes from fear, not wisdom.

So here is the question I had to ask myself.

Where has your skepticism stopped protecting you and started costing you time you do not have left?

CTRL: C

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