Living for the future – what's your attitude?

Futurists are people who study the future using a variety of forecasting techniques. They know that people’s attitude toward the future shapes what is to come and influences which tools to use to prepare.

Five attitudes about the future

• Tomorrow will be an extension of today
• Things will get worse
• Things will get better
• A miracle will occur
• A disaster will occur

Different scenarios are then assembled to plot courses of action for civic, national, business, education, association, science, research and personal decision-making.

Many futurists focus on specific trends.  They look at shifts and past changes in:

• Society and demographics
• Economics and supply chain
• Technology and its use and potentials
• Environmental changes and behaviours
• Political shifts, governance concerns

Futurists agree that the future cannot be predicted, however, probabilities can be outlined from which new decisions can be made.

Here’s the rub

Even though credible futurists show cases for their probable futures,  people generally have one of the 5 attitudes (above) as well as their own agendas which may or may not align with what is being said.

Riding the wave of change

So, realizing that the present is very different from what has occurred in the past, it is likely that the future will be different from what we know today. How open are you to surf the waves of change?

What thinking and believing processes do you know, or have in place that will enable you to keep your sense of humour, and to keep your knees bent so that you can enjoy the ride?

What’s your attitude about the future?

For further information on futurism, visit the World Future Society

Related Articles

• How do you become a futurist? (rossdawsonblog.com)
• Spark New Thinking: Top 20 forecasts 2011- 2025 from World Future Society (marcisegal.wordpress.com)
• Social media will assist police, futurists predict (calgaryherald.com)