Think Optimistically: To those who believe the world is “going to hell,” I say “think again”! If you look around your community, you will find all kinds of people quietly working to make the world a better place. You have two options: You can “bitch and moan” or you can roll up your sleeves and work to make the world a better place. Here’s a piece my wife and I recently wrote for our hometown paper, The Minneapolis Star Tribune: To Those Who are Pessimistic, Here’s Minneapolis in Another Light.
Think Paradoxically: Can a single, simple, small act change the world? Yes, it can. Here’s how. (To this end, remember — it is easier to act your way into a new way of thinking than to think your way into a new way of acting.)
Think Small: Have you ever read the book, “The Man Who Planted Trees“? This little book remains one of my favorites and is another powerful reminder that big outcomes are the result of many small steps. This post on “planting trees and becoming a member of the RE Generation” discusses the concept further.
Think Smarter : This article will appeal to executives in the healthcare and construction industries: This hospital of the future gives a glimpse of healthcare transformed.
Think Different: If your spouse returned from a hospital visit and said, “The doctor discovered a growth,” my guess is that you’d go quiet because you instantly recognized the gravity of the situation. Why is it then that economic growth is considered an unmitigated good by most economists? Nothing in nature grows forever, why do we believe the modern economy can continue to grow forever? This article offers a good primer on why it is essential to rethink our ideas around economic growth. (As a futurist, this is definitely a trend worth watching and thinking about — a small but growing number of economists, corporations, consumers, and politicians are beginning to think differently about this topic.)
P.S. My colleague Jeff Appelquist and I were in Montana this past week conducting our three-day experiential leadership seminar, “Into the Unknown,” with a leading agricultural cooperative. If you are interested in learning more about the program, feel free to contact Jeff. He can be reached here.
Afterthought: “I think I write to think — not to find out what I think; surely I know what I already think — but to do better thinking. Staring at my screen makes me better at thinking. Even thinking about writing makes me better at thinking” –Elisa Gabbert
