Many currently cultivate a future vision that resembles a horror film. This creates a particular attitude towards life: an extremely fragile, difficult, anxious and insecure mindset. But we are not on the brink of the abyss!
Indeed, times are challenging. COVID-19 has not only thrown us out of our comfort zone but hoping that the pandemic will be over and the old order to reign by around 2025 still seems to be optimistic.
Reinhold M. KarnerModern life shows a different, dangerous pattern, with the trend to rampantly attack our democracies by influencing through media for favourable opinion-making, with “alternative facts”, fake news, conspiracy and untruths. Although lately made respectable by former US president Trump, it’s neither his nor any other modern government’s invention. Many have not learned from history, ignored where this could lead. It originates from the Third Reich, when Hitler installed Joseph Goebbels as ‘minister of propaganda’, something that never existed before because nobody knew it could be so crucial to corrupt and seize power.
Propaganda means “manipulating the masses”, “shaping the opinion of the people” by faking or manipulating facts, truth, success, opinions, data, even brainwashing the masses by utter incompetence. You only need to unscrupulously buy, control or famish the media, set up your digital troll army and algorithms, then publish your abusing, corresponding opinions to targeted groups and suppress or ridicule the critical or alternative reporting. Then you have the mass of people precisely where you want them to be.
Regrettably, technological progress also shows negative side effects as, since the invention of the internet, the global traffic density of information has increased billion-fold. But it’s not about adding more knowledge to the existing knowledge; it’s all about the essential knowledge!
We need to become increasingly more sensitive regarding the quality of information; make it our duty to scrutinise information, using different accessible sources with our best efforts and common sense to act and vote responsibly for the common good.
There are other aspects of our overall situation that are human-induced. We abuse the planet, rude handling not only of the use of nature’s resources and raw materials, but overboard handling and leaving immense waste. We have cultivated a host of habits, customs, demands and so-called “normalities” that have never been seen before in history. That includes that it is evident and natural for us to be mobile, even to an earth-shattering degree. We demand that medically we are ‘guaranteed’ a healthy life until aged 80, 90, 100+ and what we call a ‘satisfying life’.
Finally, we are realising that this doesn’t seem sustainable. We need to make change. But consequently, people get scared and panic, although nobody knows how we will evolve in five, 10, 30 or 100 years, what we will use, discover, research and invent in the future. Long-term forecasts of all kinds have only one thing in common: they are almost never right!
Still, most people, especially in developed, rich countries, don’t get scared and panic because the future itself is so hard, as that’s not certain at all; they panic because they are afraid for their standards. Although there is still so much global poverty, they fear for their luxury, habits, life at the highest level of multiplication of all demands, and still it is not enough.
“We need to become increasingly more sensitive regarding the quality of information”
We should calm down, land in reality. Only then can we say about the future that the world will go on turning, one way or another. It won’t end, nor will the earth become a desert planet. Humanity will not die out − people will find ways and solutions. There are indeed challenging developments but we will adapt to them, just as we have continuously adapted to all.
Fuelling fear of the future results from painting specific scenarios, possibly even claiming scientifically to have predicted them. These grim predictions usually do not come true. To quote Mark Twain, “I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.”
Fear is one of the best economic factors; it is even used in daily advertising.Stoking fear for the future is good business. Fear is one of the best economic factors; it is even used in daily advertising. Fear makes you irrational, induces speed, makes people highly manipulable, unfree, dependent. Fear is not productive for human beings, humanity, our planet or our grandchildren.
Being afraid of the future is the most wrong conviction you can get in. There is no reason to allow fear to paralyse the future – which is just different!
Let’s escape this zeitgeist of a “horror film” thinking trap and take it all with a pinch of humour. Only the present is important because it belongs to us. The present is decisive because: if anything influences the future, it is the present. Your present behaviour, sensitivity, attitude and handling are decisive for your very personal present and future.
The world-famous Austrian-American management guru Peter Drucker once said: “Don’t try to innovate for the future. Innovate for the present! − The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
Albert Einstein said: “I never think of the future. It comes soon enough. Prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future.”
We should not hide in groups or the masses in a movement or scene. Instead, we should cultivate a respectful, happy, friendly, well-meaning, positive attitude towards the present.
So, dream big, think positive!
That’s how you’ll create a bright, most beneficial future for you and us all.
Reinhold M. Karner is an entrepreneurship and start-up evangelist, chairman, entrepreneur, author and Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) fellow.