This is a guest post by Louise Armstrong. Read more about Louise here.
In my first blog I talked about how quickly the world is changing and why we need to adapt and evolve in terms of how we live, work and connect in order to overcome the challenges the future holds.
As Albert Einstein recognised: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
Of course, while we can never be sure of what lies ahead we can all adopt some simple techniques to help us navigate our way into the future. And the great news is that they don’t cost a penny!
These techniques are designed to unlock innate capabilities within each of us. All you’ll need to do is be brave, be willing to try new things, be ready to embrace new experiences and be disciplined enough to do them all regularly.
You can start today! Here are my five top tips for a flourishing future…
1. Be more aware
Do you ever feel like you’re doing things just because they’re part of your routine? Or that you’re ignoring that inner voice that tells you to do what you love? Or that you’re not listening to how you really feel? Or, that you’re losing sight of what’s important to you and to the world around you?
If we’re going to equip ourselves to successfully overcome any challenges the future might bring, then we need to change this. We need to be more aware of our intentions, be more conscious about the way we think and act with real purpose and meaning. Being more mindful – living in the moment – is the first step to doing that. Making time for yourself to sit quietly and think about what matters to you and what really gets you fired up is the first step to becoming more aware.
What you can do today: Do one thing that makes you feel alive. It might be exercising so you feel your heart rate go up, meditating or practicing yoga to connect with yourself and the universe, or simply going outside to appreciate the wider world.
Image credit: Rolf Linse Velasco
It’s easy to take for granted – but remember how it feels to be aware of what you’re doing in the world around you.
2. Thinking beyond straight lines
We all want things to be simple and manageable but sometimes we can oversimplify things and be too selective about what we choose to see and not see – like measuring wealth in terms of Gross Domestic Product but not thinking about the economic impact that has on normal people or our environment.
The reality is messy, complicated and layered. The world is made up of a complex web of networks – so no wonder thinking in straight lines only gets us so far. Former chief creative officer of American Idol, Sharon Chang, found this out first hand when a big career change in her thirties ‘forced her to look sideways and realize that the path wasn’t necessarily linear, but full of other branches that she simply couldn’t see when she was in her twenties.’
In the future we’re going to need to get better at embracing the messy matrix of life and learn to explore how people, places, experiences and events connect to shape our lives. By expanding our minds and shifting our perspective in this way, we will open up more opportunities to create solutions and new approaches that will stick and make a real difference to the way we live.
What you can do today: Take a new route to work or to the shops; walk up a hill and take in the view, look out to sea, or do something you’ve never done before. How does it make you feel? How does your perspective change? What thoughts does this inspire?
Image credit: Harri Vayrynen
3. Seek the wisdom of others
It’s easy to think that we’re better off doing things alone, especially when so many awards and incentives celebrate individual achievements (and breed egos!).
For us to be successful in the future we will need to find ways of working with others to achieve things we never thought possible. We will need to design and create services, experiences and products that are meaningful and resonate with people.
“If you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go further, go together” – African proverb
In order to do this well we will need to understand what it takes to collaborate with others and work as a team. We will need to hone our listening and empathy skills, share, respect and embrace different opinions, and help each other.
What you can do today: Read a newspaper, a magazine, or a blog which shares a story or offers a comment from a different perspective to yours. It’s surprising how seeing things from another point of view can provide fresh insights and new ideas.
For more information on what makes for a successful collaboration read this collaboration guidebook.
4. Sense making
I don’t know about you but recently I’ve been feeling like I’m stuck in a really heady world – one dominated by rational and logic. It’s easy to forget to use all the amazing senses we have at our disposal. We just get out of the habit.
Leonardo da Vinci said that the average person: “Looks without seeing, listens without hearing, touches without feeling, eats without tasting, moves without physical awareness, inhales without awareness of odor or fragrance, and talks without thinking.”
Can you relate to this? Your senses are powerful. You need all five of them for basic functions. But you can also use them to enhance your personal development.
What you can do today: Focus on one sense each day this week. For instance, on day one, pay particular attention to everything you see – on your way to work, at work, in town, outside in the garden, etc.
5. Learning by doing
How often do you put the algebra you learnt at school to good use? When have you ever needed to draw on your knowledge of the British monarchy beyond a pub quiz?
Times are changing and being taught facts, figures and theories about how things work won’t help us, and the future generation, navigate our way through this constantly changing world. Nowadays the best way to learn is by doing.
“The man who graduates today and stops learning tomorrow is uneducated the day after.” – Newton D. Baker
The nature of education is changing. We’re seeing more applied and online courses popping up and action learning approaches are also becoming increasingly popular.
As we ride the learning train of life it’s vital that we stop regularly to reflect on decisions we made and the actions we took in the past and what impact these might have on our future thoughts, decisions, actions and experiences.
We’ll need to be comfortable with learning and practicing new skills in public. We’ll also need to recognise the limitations of being an ‘expert’ and be willing to see failure as the best way to learning.
What you can do today: What have you done today that didn’t quite go as you planned? What happened? Where did it go wrong? What can you learn from this experience? What might you do differently next time?
We all have these amazing tools and techniques at our disposal, so let’s use them the best we can to help us make sense of what’s happening around us, to better understand our experiences and to help us embrace our changing world and our place within it. Like with all good techniques, you need to practice, practice, practice!
Don’t miss my final post on Friday 27th February where I’ll share one more magic technique to help you to unlock your own potential and ride the waves of future change.
