"Turn your fear into fuel" - Futurist Jim Carroll
This photo was taken in October 2019. I'm in the room with a farming community in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It's about as conservative as you can get.
They're worried. Farming is evolving too fast. Global competition is increasing. The science of agriculture is accelerating. Cost pressures are relentless. Automation is at the door. They can't hire enough people to work on the farms. They had big goals for global market opportunities for American agricultural products; then a tariff war cut into those hopes around 2017, and those goals weren't realized. Oops.
They're scared.
They're still scared but decided recently that even though the old plan didn't work the first time, it might work the second time.
It won't.
And so here we are.
If you get behind all of this and try to understand what is going on, the fact is they're scared of the future. They make often irrational decisions based on that fear - something I dug into yesterday. When I spoke to this crowd in 2019, they were, like many groups I speak to all over the US, terrified of what tomorrow represents. The result is that rather than trying to go forward, they undertake actions in an attempt to take themselves back to the 'good old days.' Make it great again, simply by stating it should be so, and then throwing a tantrum to try to make it happen.
Except, that never works.
Let that be a lesson - the key to tomorrow comes confronting your fear and turning it into opportunity.
How do you do this? This is what I would share with them today. What do you do if you are scared of tomorrow? Turn that fear into fuel. Think like this:
- View future trends as opportunities, not threats It is important to adopt an innovative frame of mind and recognize the potential for growth and advancement. Move forward, not back.
- Shift your focus. Far too many people view the future with fear rather than thinking about opportunity. An innovative mindset doesn't quiver from the fear of what might be coming next. Instead, it's alive from breathing the oxygen of opportunity.
- Banish complacency and skepticism. Realize that in an era of rapid change, anything is possible. But only if you choose to chase it.
- Take action. Rapid times require bold change. Don't avoid the future and fail to do the tough things needed to get there.
- Challenge assumptions and eliminate habit. If your approach to the future is based upon your past success, ask yourself whether that will guarantee you similar results in the future. (Hint: it won't.)
- Innovate! Innovators don’t make a difference by redoing the status quo — they accomplish great things by being different. And they don’t constrain their difference with traditional thinking: they simply think differently.
- Re-engage with the future Shift your focus to the future with enthusiasm, motivation, and imagination. Turn it from an enemy into a friend that gives back to you!
There are many reasons for our current global state of affairs.
Like I've said many times, one reason is this.
It's better to align to the future than fear it.
You do that by turning the fear into fuel.
Futurist Jim Carroll has been speaking to people about their fear of the future for over 30 years.