Plan Your Future...Without Killing It!
True, you cannot predict the future beyond doubt. But you can strongly influence
the future through desire, vision and backcasting:
- DESIRE. Decide exactly what you want.
- VISION. Build a space for your desire to grow:
- Get a clear picture of how that looks
- Tune in to what your desire sounds like
- Energize the feelings surrounding your desire.
- BACKCASTING. Build a path to your desired future.
Desire
The first step is the hardest. Some might refer to it as "thinking with your heart".
For those who prefer "logic", the task is equally daunting.
Deciding what you want forces you to think differently, get out of the wagon rut,
and not just dig a deeper hole. You must look for a new hole, or at least look at the
old one with a fresh eye.
We are actively encouraged by most of our institutions, parents and relatives to not
think for ourselves. And especially not to focus on what we want and need for
ourselves. "Nice people think first about others." "People who think about
themselves are selfish."
Vision
This means deciding what the face will look like, what the voice will sound like, and
what the overall feeling will be, so that when the future knocks at your door, you
will not send it away. Generally you will need an expert to help you in this, and that
will cost money, but getting the future you want is always worth the investment.
And if you're not working towards the future you want, what are you doing?
Backcasting
Backcasting means starting at the result you want, and working back to the present.
This engineers a clear path to your goal.
Business people call the result an action plan. Unfortunately most businesses start at
the wrong end of the telescope. They try to forecast: examine the present and lean
towards a "better" future. This elicits resistance because players are dealing with an
"unknow", namely, an ill-defined end point. So they resort to resistance and
defence. The key buzzword - "yeah, but..."
