I believe that the Future is better than we tend think, and that #thegoodfuture is perfectly achievable – we ‘just’ need to design it more wisely, and rapidly boost global collaboration. The future is created by optimists – and we should be optimistic not because we have less problems or challenges but because we have more capacity to solve them (hat-tip to ‪@KevinKelly‬ #protopia)

Currently, the future has a terrible reputation – 70% of GenY polled in Europe, believes that their future is dim. There are many reasons for this, including, of course, the pandemic, the Russia/Ukraine war, the rapidly accelerating #climateemergency and the widespread fear of #artificialintelligence and automation. It all seems justified, but then again, we need to consider the fact that almost all major motion pictures released recently are dystopian (and usually end very badly for us humans). Social media amplifies negative news 6–8 times as much as other news. The story of the future must be re-written, and The Good Future must become part of what I call our #futuremindset.

0:00 – Intro

0:50 – Rebranding the future: It could be heaven, or it could be hell

1:21 – I’d like to do a campaign that says, “I love the future”

1:42 – Barbara Hubbard said, “Your mindset contains your future”

2:58 – We need to come together to create a good future

The episode, set against the backdrop of the New Year celebrations, delved into why idealized visions of the future hold immense value, contrary to the belief that they lack practicality. The host argued that human progress is often driven by looking at past achievements and using them as a foundation for future advancements.

The conversation highlighted how positive ideas, like the optimistic future depicted in Star Trek, have inspired countless individuals to pursue technology and build a better tomorrow. The podcast emphasized that these visions might seem impossible at conception but become feasible as resources and technologies evolve.

The host encouraged the audience to focus on creating and disseminating positive, idealistic visions for the future, underscoring their potential to guide and inspire future generations. The underlying message was clear: what we envision and share today can shape the aspirations and achievements of tomorrow, making it crucial to advocate for a future that uplifts and benefits humanity.

How we think about the future is perhaps even more important than what we think about the future. By unitizing a method for visioning we can help build the future we want and need, rather than simply reacting to a future that happens to us. Matthew Mitchell has researched the future for nearly 20 years helping organizations, governments, institutions, and individuals invent better futures through policy, investment, and planning.

He is currently developing an online service to expand access to strategic visioning research. Within the past 10 years a growing body of scientific research has revealed that a significant portion of the population has a conceptual “future gap” in which the brain is unable to fully connect our current selves with our future selves, this can greatly affect how we make decisions. As a form of extreme future gap, some of us perceive our future selves as someone else entirely. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.