The Futurist as Optimist
Why are we optimistic about the future?
There are so many reasons not to be. Just look at today’s headlines (or notifications). War. Inflation. Extreme weather. Mental health crises. Political corruption.
Or maybe the future is just not something you think much about - especially if it causes even more stress and anxiety. Scientists call that a “normalcy bias,” a psychological state where we minimize or disbelieve threats. We want to believe that everything is stable, that what happened in the past will also happen in the future, because then we can safely plan our lives. It is also called - not surprisingly - the “ostrich effect.”
We humans are also challenged by looking at our future selves. In a research study by Jane McGonigal, author of Imaginable and Director of Game Research & Development at the Institute of the Future, 37% of the respondents said they never think about themselves or the world 10 years in the future. Another 15% think about their 10-years-older, future selves maybe once a year. If you pair our brain’s ability to live in denial with our discomfort in imagining our lives 10 years in the future, it’s no wonder we are sticking our heads in the sand on everything from saving for retirement to addressing climate change.
But yet, we worry. And we’re not alone. The students we teach and deeply care about are really worried. Youth disillusionment is on the rise across the world. And along with it, a rise in mental health issues among our adolescents. Perhaps you’ve seen it in your classrooms - students who are losing confidence and trust in the world’s ability to solve its big problems. The World Economic Forum, an independent, international organization that annually highlights major trends and forces affecting human society, ranks this risk as a “top global blind spot.”
What to do? McGonigal says we need - and our students and schools need - to start actively imagining the future and to realize that the future can be shaped by what we do today. And with that sense of agency, comes hope. She calls for what she terms “urgent optimism.” “Urgent optimism,” she says, “means you’re not staying awake all night worrying about what might happen. It means you’re leaping out of bed in the morning with a fire in your pants to do something about it.” In this way we practice our learned helpfulness and urgent optimism.
So here are three reasons why now, today, is a good time to think about the future. And yes, to even begin to be optimistic about the future.
Time spaciousness. Simply put, you have time. Ten years feels like a long way away. You have time to pick your head out of the sand and imagine what your 10-years-older self will care about and spend time doing. Time makes you more creative. It helps you dream bigger. It allows you to take baby steps to affect the future you wish for.
With time, comes choice. While there are huge challenges facing the world, there are also hopeful, helpful forces at play as well. You can choose which forces you wish to amplify, ones you deeply care about or have the talent and skills to influence. Here are some growing trends that give us a sense of optimism from Imaginable: Super-inexpensive solar and wind energy. Prioritization of social safety nets over economic growth. Free or low-cost learning for a lifetime. Efforts to combat social isolation. Where do you see these trends happening in your life? How might they affect your future self? How can you help today? Imagining the future, searching for the signals already here, says McGonigal, allows you to “adapt faster to new challenges, build hope and resilience, reduce anxiety and depression, and inspire you to take actions today that set yourself up for future happiness and success.”
Your students are already imagining the future - we need to help or get out of their way. Schools all over the globe are challenging their students to dream big about the future and become changemakers right now. Organizations like Teach the Future and Inspire Citizens are creating curriculum and programs to teach “future literacy” in our schools.
Here are some ideas to shift your students out of the doldrums of today and into a future of possibility that they have agency to create.
Share a daily signal with your class. The Institute for the Future defines a signal as “typically a small or local innovation or disruption that has the potential to grow in scale and geographic distribution. A signal can be a new product, a new practice, a new market strategy, a new policy, or new technology.” Try a simple Google search. Or just pay attention to what’s coming at you every day. Here is one I read in my feed today. It’s been talked about for years but now it’s becoming a reality. Cruise, a company supported by General Motors, has started offering limited driverless car rides in San Francisco. Ask your students - what are the pros and cons of these services? Would they get into a driverless car today? What about a driverless school bus? Or airplane? Does the signal make them feel hopeful? Where might this lead?
Challenge your students with a back to the future scenario. Create a scenario of a preferred future, one where no one is hungry, for example. Fill it with signals and trends that are happening today. For future trends impacting today’s youth, check out websites for the World Economic Forum, the United Nations World Youth Report, or the Institute for the Future. Or try Teach for the Future’s online card game. The more specifically you can imagine your future, the more we can see where we can take action today.
Start a Future Friday. Once a week, have your students Google any topic and the words such as “future”, “new,” “weird,” or “innovations.” (“The future of transportation.” “New ideas in sports.”) Then ask your students to wonder what they might do today to push that future forward. Encourage them to react in ways that feel consistent with who they want to be in the world. What might they want to learn today that would be helpful? Who might they join with?
Don’t forget about the younger students. The Christian Science Monitor, in collaboration with the Hechinger Report, asked fifth-graders about the world they will inhabit 20 years from now. Their ideas for challenging global issues like climate change or racism “exude an innate optimism, a sense of delight and possibility.” Even younger students can use these future-thinking, fun, cards on Baamboozle to get their ideas flowing.
Offer a futures course. We all have taken history courses - more than we can count. But what if we started futures courses where young people get to know their future selves and explore what their fears and hopes are for the future. What do they want to be prepared for? Who else is working on this? What skills do they need? What do they want us to know? What can you offer from your experience to help them dream. How can we get out of their way?
What else can you do?
