What Future are YOU creating?
… or why I choose to be an Optimist
Let’s start with the good news: a future, in which every individual on this planet is honored and respected, has all the resources available to unfold themselves to their highest potential, has loving and forwarding relationships and works in service to life, is actually possible.
We can absolutely create such a future.
Today, we are in a better position to do so than ever.
Never before have we had this level of access to information and this kind of speed of communication. All of life has always evolved because of information and communication. From the smallest particles to cells, to plants and chemicals, to animals and territory, to words and symbols now piped through gigantic global networks at dazzling speed.
More people have access to information today than ever before. In their pockets. In a $25 smart phone. And more people than ever are capable of spreading memes at unprecedented speeds. Think of how quickly a new viral video spreads — not just inside of a country — but across the globe. How quickly memes are adopted beyond national boundaries: #FridaysForFuture, #Make_______GreatAgain (yes even that one, especially the derivative memes) and #Metoo — to name just a couple powerful recent ones. These memes are changing society.
And there is even better news:
YOU can create the future.
You actually are creating the future, in every moment. By default. By being here. By being you. Through everything you believe to be true and important. Through every action you take. Through every single outcome you create that someone else is impacted by, be it a piece of art or a piece of trash.
That can be overwhelming to think about.
It is generally easy to be overwhelmed in today’s world. If you listen to the news, you can easily fall prey to despair: massive weather events increasing in frequency and violence, a disastrous destruction of species and ecosystems, consequent global migrations, politicians who seem to be lost in narcissist bullshit and petty turf wars, businesses that seemingly don’t care and continue to pollute our planet in their greedy quest for profits… And, of course, not to forget AI coming to take our jobs, mass unemployment and poverty on levels we haven’t known, at least in the “West”, in over a century.
Pretty damn overwhelming. I know I can’t even begin to imagine how to solve all of that, and if I allow myself to dive into the darkness of it all, choosing to opt out, even suicide, seems like a pretty attractive way out.
“Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom.” — Søren Kierkegaard
There is no need to despair. Sure, shit is hitting the fan. Many of our current systems will fall away, and some won’t go easy. Transformation does come with death. That is true.
AND, we have more opportunity than ever to create a new kind of humanity on planet earth. This is also true. Lotus flowers grow in dung. Freedom is on the other side of having overcome anxiety.
Pessimism and Optimism are both equally valid in light of the state of the world. That is what being a realist is all about: being able to entertain both perspectives equally.
Acknowledge the anxiety.
And then…
… it becomes about choice.
YOUR choice. In every moment.
You can look at the pessimist perspective, and think it’s all going to get worse anyway. In that case, the logical consequence would be to off yourself right now. Why keep going if it is only going to get worse? Being a human isn’t easy as it is, and if it’s only going to get harder, why bother?
OR, you can choose to be an optimist. Choose to look at the bright side of our future, at what is possible for us, for YOU — and make that your mission.
You can’t solve it all, of course, but…
You can do YOU.
- You can look at who you want to BE. What you want to stand for in this world. What you value. What you would be willing to die for (if the alternative is offing yourself or death in a catastrophic event, you might as well put your life on the line).
- You can look at who you could BECOME. How you can learn in every moment. How there is more knowledge available than ever, how you can learn from every interaction, how you can continue to evolve yourself guided by what you value.
- And, you can look at how you can BELONG in any moment. By creating value for others, you create a connection. By caring for the world around you, you become part of it.
You don’t have to save the world.
You have to be YOU, and you are invited to be a prototype of a new humanity, one that would live in a future as described above: Where YOU start by demanding to be honored and respected as an individual, where YOU use all the knowledge available to create value and attract and earn the resources you need to unfold yourself, where YOU choose to have loving and forwarding relationships, and where YOU work in service to life.
The future is in YOUR hands.
It is YOUR choice.
For my part, I choose to be an optimist. In the very least, it’s way more fun ;-)
“The great lesson from the true mystics is that the sacred is in the ordinary, that it is to be found in one’s daily life, in one’s neighbors, friends, and family, in one’s backyard.” — Abraham Maslow
The future belongs to those who create it. That is why I serve as a culture catalyst and planetary strategist for visionary leaders. Through my work with LUMAN and other projects, I provide frameworks and operating metaphors to support leaders around the world in their individual evolution and in growing innovation capacity in their teams and organizations — all with the aim of a planetary society. I have worked with startups, NGOs and with global Fortune 500 organizations in a variety of industries around the world. More at http://philiphorvath.com.
