Workshop Staying Motivated Amid Uncertainty

• Escape the short term thinking and escape into the future
• we mainly think in the ultrashort future
• we spent a lot thinking about the next some hours - but we don’t spent much time thinking about the future
• our goals are too fuzzy, we can’t see it really
• often we spent far too much time working on the obstacle, without having the goals really clear
• our brain treats us in the future as strangers - and thats why we care less about our future self
• psychological allergy to uncertainty

Certainty mindset

• predictability
• ultra-short term
• efficient
• avoids overwhelm
• can respond effectively to threats
• results in psychological allergy to uncertainty

Uncertainty mindset

• awareness
• imagination
• creativity

Data helps early stage, imagination helps future stage with higher uncertainty.

to think about the future we need the uncertainty mindset

Think in Scenarios

A story about the future …

• describe environment outside your control
• break inclination to predict - as objectively as possible
• open mind to possibilities
• reveal indicators - can identify elements of this future
• find commonalities among scenarios

3 scenarios A,B,C and elements of each scenario (x). You can see what is likely to happen, what are commonly share elements

How to create scenarios

• Time - how old are you gonna be… /and others
• Uncertainty - what is the uncertainty in your scenario
• another uncertainty
• name and describe the scenario
• elaborate on implications
• think about 4-5 scenarios

[[Scenario Building.pdf]]

Deriving scenarios from 2 different dimensions

Make the vision vivid

• what is within our control
• make the future concrete and bridge the disconnect
• needs to be compelling and motivating

make it an aspirational future

• pick up great things from the past … that you might embed in your future

[[Visioning.pdf]]

Backcasting

• work back from your longer term goals - e.g. 3 years
• where do I need to be in 2 years time then? What needs to happen.
• what in 1 years time …
• so instead of projecting from now to the future — start with the future and trace back

[[Backcasting.pdf]]

Linking

• Curiosity Reflections