Creating the future - despite it all

A conversation about race, privilege and the importance of compassion so that we can get through this - and create the future we want.

One of the things I keep reminding people about is that - we are in a changing period and the resistance - including the violent resistance - is actually a predicted part of the change process.  Unfortunately.

Understanding what is going on behaviorally - can help you - focus on what we need to do - to create the change we want.

Learn more here: https://humanistlearning.com/change1/

Or this one - https://humanistlearning.com/the-science-of-change/

Transformation and the Future

We are in a period of societal transformation, it's global in nature and it's difficult. The good news - is we can decide what we want our future to be like.

I am a Humanist and I am actually - still optimistic about the future. I understand we are living in very scary times. And that the future is uncertain.  I also understand that - we are in a period of transformation and it's up to us to decide what the future will be.  Will we choose optimism? Or despair?  That choice is ours. 

Planning for the Future

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” ― Mahatma Gandhi

Planning for the future requires balance. Too much worry is a bad thing, not enough worry and you don’t get anything done. Our challenge is to plan well while understanding that even with the best planning, things often go astray.

My philosophic approach is obviously Humanist. So I accept that tomorrow is not guaranteed, but I move forward optimistically anyway. After all, if tomorrow comes, I want to be ready for it.  I find that this approach helps me to constantly be pleasantly surprised when things go well and that I am less likely to take things for granted.  In other words, it helps me to keep an optimistic and happy attitude, even when things don’t go quite right.

I teach strategic planning and decision making for a living. (see the programs I offer at https://humanistlearning.com). Understanding the ultimate existential futility of my efforts helps me to not take myself too seriously.  This may seem odd, but I find that the less I worry about making mistakes, the less mistakes I make in my planning.  I can relax into the task instead of stressing out my brain.  Planning, is no longer a life or death matter, it’s a hypothetical one.  This mindset allows me room to play intellectually with my problem and in turn helps me to be more creative in my problem solving.

It  may seem strange to talk about strategic planning as a philosophic exercise, but it is. This is why I don’t simply teach practical skills, I also teach a philosophic approach that will help you overcome your inner dilemmas that are preventing you from solving your problems.

So check out my courses. Planning for Personal Success and Reality Based Decision Making for Effective Strategy Development. Give yourself a healthy dose of practical skill and philosophic counseling.  The online courses are short and you can log on at any time.  Check them out and let  me know what you think.

The Future

Why having a goal is important.

Having a positive vision of the future is important. I’m not in favor of unrealistic optimism, but it is important to have some idea of what you want to accomplish despite the realities of the present.

Without a goal to work towards and achieve, you have no reason or meaning in your life. I’m not saying, your goals need to be grand. Heck, there have been times in my life where just getting out to the mail box to get the mail was a major accomplishment. What I am saying is, having that as a goal, as stupid and minimal as it was, helped me to get through some rough times in my life. I might not be able to take on the whole world, but I could, at a minimum get out to the mail box. And that little victory helped me to reclaim my will to live.  I hadn’t given up. Not totally anyway.

Sometimes you just have to take it day by day. And that’s ok.  However, I find it best to have longer term goals for myself, larger projects to work towards. Projects that I can break up into smaller doable things.

For instance, my  - get myself to the mailbox today, was part of a larger goal to eventually reclaim my life and get on with living life fully. Every time I succeeded in getting to the mailbox, I was succeeding, in a small way, towards my larger goal.

Nowadays, I have big goals and big plans. These ideas and projects and goals keep me motivated and engaged and help me feel alive, even when things aren’t going as smoothly as I had hoped.

So think about the future. What do you want to accomplish? Now set out and do it! Just don’t forget to pick up your mail in the meantime. The small tasks are important too.