Thinking About The Future: 4 Different Attitudes

There are different ways to think about life. So we can adopt different attitudes in which we think about the future. The future is what is yet to come and what has not yet happened.

So we can never know with total certainty what will happen. It is impossible to guess the future. This fact causes us to experience negative emotional states.

Usually the unknown causes fear, anxiety and uncertainty. The future, that great stranger, creates these feelings when we think about them. Still, the future is not completely bleak. After all, we can do things to improve it.

Although we cannot predict it, we always have the opportunity to exhibit a certain attitude. It will help us feel prepared as we face the future.

Broadly speaking, we can adopt four attitudes towards the future. We have mainly used these characteristics to describe the attitudes of leaders. However, they apply to any context:

• The posture of the ostrich (passivity)
• That of the firefighter (reactivity)
• The attitude of the insurer (pre-activity)
• The Conspirator’s Attitude (Proactivity)

Thinking about the future

The Ostrich and Passivity

Despite the popular idea, ostriches don’t bury their heads in the sand when they feel they are in danger. However, this attitude is given the name “ostrich” from this mistaken belief.

The ostrich’s attitude is based on passivity, on doing nothing. This attitude is basically refusing to see the world as it is until the changes are imposed.

We view this as a negative attitude. After all, it means that you are not prepared for the confrontation with what can happen. Yet it is not always bad. Doing nothing is a legitimate strategy that can be very effective at times.

However, this attitude is also very risky. If the future requires us to change, we could miss out on many opportunities if we act like ostriches.

The firefighter and respond

In general, firefighters only come into action when there is a fire. It is then too late to be able to prevent the fire. This attitude of thinking about the future is less passive than the previous one.

It means waiting for the fire to start before putting it out. However, waiting for problems to arise and then solving them is a very risky attitude. The reason is that in some cases it may be too late.

Reactive people tend to act without thinking based on stimuli (action-reaction). Sometimes these strategies are effective, especially when time is short. However, hasty reactions usually cause us to make even more mistakes.

The insurer and pre-activity

Insurers sell insurance. This means that our possessions have a price. So if something happens to our property, we can get the economic value back.

This attitude of thinking about the future goes one step further than the attitude of the firefighter. It tries to prevent something from happening. Moreover, it at least ensures that all will not be lost if it does happen.

We regard the insurer’s attitude as pre-active. It involves anticipating what might happen before it happens. Indeed, it is better to be prepared for what may happen.

However, this attitude also has a negative side. Fear can cause us to be too pre-active. We will then insure everything at a high cost if the chance that something negative will happen is very small.

The suspicious and proactive

Distrustful people are always attentive. Whatever signal leads them to distrust people. We call this attitude of thinking about the future pro-activity. It is based on acting before something happens.

A proactive attitude therefore goes one step further. He’s  trying to change the future. People with a proactive attitude try to intervene so that reality fits their thoughts and plans.

If one is striving for a specific future, then a proactive attitude will try to do everything possible to make it happen.

Different attitudes to think about the future

We have now seen all the attitudes in which people think about the future. The normal situation is that you lean towards the latter two. So choose to combine the pre-active vigilance of an insurer with the pro-activity of a conspirator.

What do we mean by this? Adopt an attitude focused on anticipating future threats and the opportunities that may emerge on the horizon. That way you can correct your way without having to give up your goals.