Challenged By Challenge

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March 31, 2021

For some extremely odd reason I’ve been challenged by the word challenge.  While handwriting in the daily journal the word challenge didn’t look right.  It bothered me deeply.  I grabbed the dictionary.  I looked up challenge!  My writing instrument is disconnected from Spell Check.  Words move through me at the speed of light.  Until one of them doesn’t look right.  How is this possible?  Over the past 50 plus weeks the word challenge must have been handwritten 400,000 times.  Yet today, challenge became my challenge.  I did some research.  It’s called Semantic Satiation. It’s psychological.  When the mind temporarily loses its connection.  Some people call it Wordnesia.  Semantic Satiation can also affect our verbal abilities.  Have you ever stopped yourself in midsentence and wondered why you chose those particular words?  Learning to live with Semantic Satiation requires awareness.  Don’t just let a misspelled word sit there.  Do something to correct the situation.  Has Spell Check made us lazy writers?  I love its strength on the laptop.  Feel like Indiana Jones while in a journal.  The search is on! Did I spell challenge correctly?  Here’s the reason why it’s so important.  One day these daily writings will be viewed by other eyes.  Dear Future Reader.  I gave it my best.  Thank you Mr. Dictionary.  What truly scares me more than Semantic Satiation is how we’ve accepted bad spelling on social media.  Especially on Media websites.  Nobody can afford a human professional editor.  We’re relying on the computer.  So many daily posts from the rich and famous to Johnny and Wilma Regular Robinson throw down their thoughts without rereading.  Oh!  And the Automatic Correct on FaceBook, your texting device and anything else with a tech brain changes everything.  Not just the spelling of the words but sometimes an entire thought.  Challenged by the word challenge.  One look at my writing from this morning and you might see why.  How I write says I should’ve been a doctor.