THE FUTURE IS IN OUR HANDS

Gill Tiney

When I was young there was a TV programme called Tomorrow’s World. We used to be amazed at what was potentially coming to our homes in the next generation. We were introduced to the prototypes and told by the time the next generation were 18 (10 years in my case) we would be able to make a telephone call without the use of wires connecting us. It felt like science-fiction, and I was riveted.

I loved to imagine what life would be like then and how many new gadgets would make life easier. The implications and impacts seemed a lifetime away.

Fast forward 50 years and the speed of change is so fast many are railing against it and hankering for a more peaceful, less busy time. It would appear the more we know, the more we obtain to make our lives easier, the more we want and the less happy we become. As an example, many things that have been invented to make our life easier and more convenient, have also added to the obesity crisis.

We are missing the beauty in our lives because we are too scared to miss something happening across the world.

So how do we keep up with this pace? Is it to be welcomed and embraced – TikTok anyone? Or shunned as simply one thing too many. How do we keep a balance? That is only one consideration from an individual’s perspective. What about the bigger global picture?

A few years ago, I read a book by Lynda Gratton (Professor of Management Practice at London Business School) called The Shift in which she identified that in the next 10 years (around about now) we would be experiencing a pandemic of loneliness. Very perceptive considering she knew nothing of Covid at that time. She predicted that we would mostly be working from home and our interactions with each other would be minimised, thus causing a strain on our mental health and potential and probable depression because of our isolation. Add to that, scientists utilising AI (Artificial Intelligence) to build robots that can give our elderly relatives, isolated due to Covid, a hug and we can see that physical touch is not apparently seen as a prescription for good health. As a substitute for our love, robots will never make the grade. It would appear that Lynda’s prediction is coming true, much faster than we could ever have anticipated.

Are YOU responsible for how our world evolves? If you have watched Russel T. Davis’ TV drama Years and Years, you will have seen the incredible speech by actress Ann Reid as the matriarch of the family. In it she lays the blame for the changing world firmly at the feet of everyone present. It was their fault that robots replaced people at such a rapid rate, and no one did anything about it. You can find the four minute clip on YouTube, I urge you to watch the whole six part series – a real eye opener and whilst a work of fiction, in today’s world it resonates deeply.

We are ALL responsible for how our world evolves.

We can look at the changes being made as negative or positive, it is how we choose to view our world. From a negative perspective we ask, how can we be kept safe, how can we survive if the powers that be, choose to devastate our planet?

Or we can see our world from a positive perspective – how much has been gained from science, new technologies and global observations? Ultimately, we have to look at how we feed ourselves – both mind and body. Hang out with people who are negative, destructive, judgemental and have lost the joy of living and you will eventually find yourself adopting the same behaviours and attitudes. A word of warning, this will inevitably bring a depression to your world too. However, if you choose to surround yourself with positive, open minded, proactive people and you become empowered, inspired, confident and happy. There is much in our world to bring us happiness.

So, feed yourself, physically and emotionally good ‘food’ and you will be well to tackle this speed of change. Feed yourself a constant supply of negative ‘food’ and your mental and physical health will suffer.

Not always…. But in my experience that seems to be the way.

Let’s look on the bright side!

Just because technology is moving fast, that doesn’t mean it is always going to be a problem. For example, advances in medicine have been astonishing, less people die of cancer than ever before. We have solutions to generate masses of food, there is enough to go around, plastic can be repurposed, and we know how to clean the oceans and of course we know how to generate free energy.

So, what is holding us back?Apparently, not enough money to fund these solutions. Really?

I am sure every person reading this now could come up with at least three solutions to that problem – and I don’t mean raising taxes!

The real problem is those who can provide a solution don’t want to lose their power or authority by saying something unpopular, so they let an old system prop up the people in power and use events like COP 26 to show us that they are doing something about it.

Talking. A lot of talking!Not much listening and not much action.

The time has come for us to instigate change rather than have it happen to us. Passively allowing other people to dictate our freedoms, who then show no respect to the population by not following said rules just doesn’t work – party at No10 anyone?

We need to lead by example.

We need to become the leaders that we are seeking.

Ravi Venkatesan - Unicef Special Representative for Young People stated:

“When you look at all the vexing and existential problems, it’s becoming clear that we’re making almost no progress towards solving them despite our technology, resources, and talent. The core issue is leadership.”

Leadership comes in many forms and some of the best leaders I know are running small businesses – the backbone of most country’s economies.

We have the power to come together and create businesses for good. A business that will not only put £s in our own pocket but also help others at the same time. This is not a new concept, and there are currently hundreds of B Corporations that are demonstrating how it can be done.

By changing the driver of a business from how they are working for good instead of just for profit we can see the leaders of tomorrow emerge. People are more aware of their needs as opposed to their wants and are buying ethically and thoughtfully.

Mindset is changing over consumerism; the culture of a business is being experienced from a place of love and not profit. People are asking pertinent questions about the efficacy and environmental impact of their purchase.

We can all make empowered choices.

Each of us has the power and collective responsibility to transform the culture of our businesses and those they come in contact with.

Do that in business and we can change it in other areas too.

We are entering a new phase of collective, organic, self-organisation with the power to connect people across the globe – irrespective of race, gender, religion, country of origin, nationality, sexual orientation or physical or mental disability.

As soon as we acknowledge that we are all connected intrinsically on this planet and that we are here for each other, then we can start to make a powerful positive change for GOOD. Then collaborations will emerge to make our world a better place.

A place where money no longer holds a control over us because we no longer need to be mindless consumers, we can all have enough. When we all help each other, we all grow together. By living in this abundant mindset and operating from a place of love, we can achieve everything we need to do – for us, the planet and our Tomorrow’s World.