If you’re like most people, it’s pretty easy to get “derailed” today by unexpected and “unpredictable” events, some that seem to come from nowhere and others that emerge more slowly while we’re overwhelmed with life and the speed of change. Many times you see it coming, but with all your other responsibilities and time priorities on your radar, it’s often easier to pay attention to less “painful” things. But our lives have changed in radical ways and things are very different now. The factors that are disrupting the safety and predictability of our everyday lifestyle patterns are escalating and will continue to accelerate in the future.
In this changing environment of increasing NOISE, how do you do begin to “futureproof” yourself and your family against events such as:
-Unforeseen physical Illness and health problems
-Mental health issues, anxiety and depression
-Internet hacking and commercialization
-Unexpected toxic communication from friends
-Immersion and addiction to negative and harmful media
-Drug and alcohol abuse
-Business vulnerability and downturns
-Economic upheavals, financial change, bankruptcy
-Family issues such as separation, abuse, and divorce
-Catastrophic environmental events, floods, fires, climate change
-Family tragedies and the death of a loved ones
-Employment layoffs
-Unpredictable housing and living expense changes
-Changes in employment potential
“Futureproofing“ is the process of preparing for unexpected and potentially harmful negative future events by developing the critical CENTERPOINT skills needed to re-balance yourself under conditions of disequilibrium and stress. This new form of “dynamic balance” is more important now, than at any other moment in history. What makes it so is the silent and seductive intangibles of media and technology that are a significant part of our daily living. Today’s task is to understand how to continue forward toward maximizing full human potential, under accelerating levels of NOISE and chaos.
“Futureproofing” and CENTERPOINT skills involve a very specific type of preparation, based on brain science. Because the brain has the potential for re-wiring (neuroplasticity) itself, even through old age, our executive functions, including higher critical thinking and creative skills are trainable, not guesswork. Developing the CENTERPOINT skills for the future provides the foundation for our three choice-full dimensions, awareness, ability and control.
While some people have figured these skills out already, others languish in the illusion that life will continue to move along as usual, and that when things do go wrong, they’ll figure it all out at the time that the negative events occur. But, if you’ve noticed, it doesn’t work that way. The people that DO figure things out and manage to turn lemons into lemonade have a different set of skills, and it’s those skills interacting with our rapidly changing environment that make the difference. FutureWise is committed to products and programs that develop the critical CENTERPOINT skills. These include Time Design™, The 5 Step P.A.U.S.E®, The Inner I.Q.®, The Choice-Full Theater, and Circles of Influence to name a few. Because things are very different now, maintaining our Dynamic Balance in a culture of noise, demands our emphasis to be placed on a different type of “inside -out” preparation in order to become FutureWise.
This unfolding series of blog posts will tackle the critical questions related to the “new” NOISE. What’s really going on? What does the research show? How can we prepare and protect our choice making skills?
Stayed tuned to learn how to LIVE ABOVE THE NOISE.
Rob Reiher Ph.D.