“When you confuse the edge of your rut with the horizon, your world seems very small.”
Although it’s not possible to predict the future, we all spend an inordinate amount of time attempting to do so. Rather than trying to predict what will happen, it’s much more productive to question, “What are potential scenarios that might occur? What are strategies I can use to deal most effectively with each of them? What resources will I need, what skills, what critical competencies do I have right now that I can build upon?
We constantly imagine possible scenarios for the future, sometimes with anticipation, other times with apprehension, but the visual image and potential consequences can be very real. David Ingvar, a former head of the neurology department at the University of Lund, Sweden, calls this the “memory of the future.” The human brain automatically attempts to make sense of the future by testing possible plans of action; therefore, when the situation actually occurs, you have a “memory” of how you sorted out the potential choices before it occurred. The more practice you have, the more adept you become at selecting favorable options.
The scenario approach encourages questioning, it recognizes the reality of ambiguity and expects change. It doesn’t create a specific “plan” that can create an artificial perception of order, which is in reality the most unstable state of all as it lulls us into a sense of surety that leaves us unprepared when things don’t turn out as we planned. The scenario approach, on the other hand, encourages questioning, it recognizes the reality of ambiguity and expects change. It prepares us to deal effectively and confidently with whatever occurs, because we have “been there” already in our imaginations. It teaches us to be much more effective problem solvers and it reduces our fear of the unknown…..critical attributes for individuals and companies in today’s topsy turvy world.
Next time you’re caught daydreaming, just say you’re creating the future.
We constantly imagine possible scenarios for the future, sometimes with anticipation, other times with apprehension, but the visual image and potential consequences can be very real. David Ingvar, a former head of the neurology department at the University of Lund, Sweden, calls this the “memory of the future.” The human brain automatically attempts to make sense of the future by testing possible plans of action; therefore, when the situation actually occurs, you have a “memory” of how you sorted out the potential choices before it occurred. The more practice you have, the more adept you become at selecting favorable options.
The scenario approach encourages questioning, it recognizes the reality of ambiguity and expects change. It doesn’t create a specific “plan” that can create an artificial perception of order, which is in reality the most unstable state of all as it lulls us into a sense of surety that leaves us unprepared when things don’t turn out as we planned. The scenario approach, on the other hand, encourages questioning, it recognizes the reality of ambiguity and expects change. It prepares us to deal effectively and confidently with whatever occurs, because we have “been there” already in our imaginations. It teaches us to be much more effective problem solvers and it reduces our fear of the unknown…..critical attributes for individuals and companies in today’s topsy turvy world.
Next time you’re caught daydreaming, just say you’re creating the future.
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