by Norman Halls, contributor
Have you ever thought about the future, really have you? We all should give some thought. Not politically, that changes every two and four years. Not next month or year, but into the next 10 or 20 years where a lot will occur. What will transpire in the years ahead? Reflect on, technology for our food consumption, medicine, transportation and our daily life. Caring about the future may not be part of your normal thought process, but it’s nice to think what is happening. You may not have insight as to what will be needed. However, we all may have an idea as to what we would like to see or think would happen. Having an idea as to what you think is a start, make sure you document it and do some research that will give you direction.
Spending time thinking what could be isn’t going to make you a happy person. Harvard Psychologists, Matthew Killingworth and Daniel Gilbert said; “A human mind is a wandering mind, and a wandering mind is an unhappy mind.” They continue “the ability to think about what is not happening is a cognitive achievement that comes at an emotional cost.” But, if we don’t wander in our thinking what challenge is there for anyone to come up with an idea. Use that process to move forward. Your future can take unpredictable direction. You may have to change direction a few times. When you buy something, we check-out the product for its quality, and will it do what we want. Looking at the future is similar, put some thought into it for your well being.
We should not have any fear about the challenge. Think about the ones who developed the computer system, artificial parts for the body, robotics and many objects we use every day. Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler authors of Why You Should Be Optimistic About the Future: “Currently, thanks to the incredible, exponential rate of growth of technology, combined with three powerful emerging forces, we are teetering on the edge of a much, much better tomorrow.” In many cases, creating something, perhaps a tool or technology direction, doesn’t take a PhD to do it. Try to convey your ideas and thoughts in an articulate and consistent way. In our daily routine, we see and do things many times we see as nothing unusual, but if you thought that what you are doing could assist someone else, that may help someone in the future.
Why do we think of the future? In an article: 10 Mistakes People Make in Thinking About the Future by Sara Robinson “The future won’t be like the past. And the most likely future isn’t. In any group, there’s usually a unspoken set of assumptions about where the world is headed, and what their future holds. Life has gone on for a certain way for a while — and the longer that trend continues, the more invested they get in the assumption that things will just keep on going that same direction. I always ask people early on to describe their Most Likely Future — the one they and their friends assume will happen if nothing else changes. And I’ve never met anybody who had to hesitate a minute to fill me in on what that future looks like.”
We must think about our future. If we do, we can become more productive. Procrastination or maybe I don’t feel like it maybe tomorrow. Yes, we all say it, but where does it get us? Dan Gilbert at Harvard University wrote: “we rely on our present to predict our future, so when positive we feel positive today, we predict our future self will as well. If I keep my focus narrowly on the present, it’s all good, right? Not really. The problem: we conveniently forget that our future self will also have the added burden of whatever we’re delaying today.” Recently on TV, Boeing has an ad “You Just Wait” it shows an innovative future and you will be amazed what’s to come.
We should be thinking about the future. Why we should make time for remembering the future by Kristin Alford and Neil Houghton “Time is not simply something that happens to us. We imagine it, organize it, allocate it, kill it and make it. We can guard it jealously or allow others to dictate what we do with our time. These are not just metaphors, but explain how we manage our most precious and finite resource.”
Finally, it’s time we be more optimists in our deliberation, and give it choices. Many times you may not recognize your own results. Have faith in the future while you are doing your thing.
