The Importance of Reimagining the Future

Reimagining the future is some of the toughest work we do as human beings.

When our lives do not go the way we had imagined, the future seems to be put on hold in some ways doesn't it?

Even for a moment, we wonder “what’s next?"

Getting moving again, towards a newly imagined future, is real work as we get unstuck from the shock of what is happening in and around us.

Maybe this is why it is so difficult...

When the deal falls through on the house we were hoping for. After all, we imagined living there, raising our kids there, and having family gatherings on the back deck.The comfort of ‘knowing’ gets swept out from underneath us when we ‘lose’ the house.
To imagine moving to a new city when your family is super established. The feeling of being uprooted is daunting for some.
When we cancel or postpone a vacation. Such a bummer!
When we let someone down and lose a bit of trust with them. Reestablishing trust is tough work.
When people do not become what we had hoped for, or when we become something we did want to become - and our relationships take an unimagined turns. Navigating these types of situations takes incredible self and other awareness.
When any type of tragedy strikes - sickness, death, etc. Having to re-think all of the thoughts and plans we had made together takes quite a bit of emotional, spiritual, and physical bandwidth.

Sarah and I have spent the last few years reimagining our future. Through some health struggles, wonderings about our work, and a new season of raising young kids, we thought the path was leading us in a certain direction for the second half of life.

Until that path started to turn.

The turns were slow at first, then hairpin, and then meandering again, until it was clear that our future would look much different than we had anticipated. We learned quickly that the twists and turns were not as predictable as we had hoped for.

It was a tough season of grief, surprising sadness, unwinding identity from work, an incredible counseling journey, and retraining how we think about things. Including our future work and how we practice family.

We have this tendency to want to stay right where we are, don't we? We long to be known, to know, and to predict the future because it feels familiar. Even if it’s not working out so well. Because reimagining the future is more difficult.

Facing ourselves to reimagine the future is the tough work of a listening leader.

So, what does the path look like as a leader who reimagines the future?

Create Space & Shift Pace for Reflection

We must make the space in our lives and slow down the pace to begin the process of self reflection.
These disappointments and tragedies in our lives often lead to anger, sadness, or anxiety. Noting these realities in our heads, hearts, calendars, and relationships, is important work in starting to reimagine the future.

Revisit Dashed Hopes

As we learn to create space and shift pace to better listen to ourselves, it is important to revisit our previous hopes that were dashed.
We must mourn these processes, these people, these ideas, and these possibilities before we can reimagine them.
They were good at one point in life, but these things they look different now. Putting them in their proper place in our body and mind is very important.
It is also important to acknowledge that these things hurt us, and it is time to start moving into a future that isn’t as harmful.

Reevaluate and Realign Our Values

Transitions are a great time to reevaluate our values!
Are we still becoming who we want to become?
Does how we practice our life align with these values?
Where do we need to make tweaks? Bring more focus? Where do we need to rigorously realigned to the right path in front of us?

Resurrect Good Threads

As we reevaluate our values, we may notice a thread in those dashed hopes that we should hold onto?
Is there a thread that is worth pulling into the new future we are imagining?
How do we give old things new life as we reimagine the future? Can we resurrect some of these things and pump new life and meaning into them moving forward towards a transformed and vibrant future?

Re-Imagine the Possibilities

What may have opened up in front of us as a result of this process that makes us excited?
What is our body and mind telling us as we reimagine what is possible in front of us?
What common pitfalls would we be on the lookout for on our emerging path?
Where do you see hope around the corner on this journey?
What are the ways we can imagine new possibilities that await us, our families, and our leadership?

This is the best part of reimagining the future - our Grief and our Relief start mixing together and we see a way forward!

The “I wish it would have been…” starts to heal, and fade; like that scar on my elbow from falling off my bike on Elliot St. behind the old Chicken Coop when I was 8 years old.

Our tears start to dry up a bit, or at least fall differently from our eyes as we start to live in a new type of hope again.

And then this possibility arises: we feel the return of joy.

Taking those dashed hopes, realigning our values, and resurrecting good threads helps us a paint a reimagined picture of the future that is exhilarating and life giving.

Then, and only then, does a new path start to build before us. One section at a time, where we cannot see around the bend, where the future is always untold, and where we are not alone.

That is how we reimagine the future!

May we approach the path with a sense of wonder, butterflies in our stomachs, and adventure as we step into the unknown.

Reimagining the future is tough, but good, work!

Kevin Eastway

Up Next On -The Future Reimagined Blog - "The Blank Pages in Between"

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Post by Kevin Eastway
November 1, 2022