How do we imagine tomorrow?
At our annual 2030 residential, Tarik Chekchak, a lead figure of the
Institute for Desirable Futures, invited us to explore how humanity has related to the
future across history—and how these lenses continue to shape the way we act today.
Three Historical Ways of Relating to the Future
- Fatality – In ancient times, the future was seen as fixed, determined by the gods or fate. Human agency had little place.
- Pride – During industrial modernity, faith in science and technology fueled the belief that we could shape the future at will.
- Uncertainty – Today, ambiguity dominates. Faced with overlapping crises, we oscillate between fear and paralysis.
The Institute for Desirable Futures encourages us to shift away from predictive futurology—which often gets stuck in guesswork—and instead embrace
present-based activation: designing from the now toward desirable futures.
Rethinking Futures: Four Scenario Types
Tarik outlined four common ways societies frame the future
- Trend-Based – Simply extending today’s trajectories into tomorrow.
- Worst-Case – Stress-testing by imagining collapse and disruption.
- Disruptive – Anchored in breakthroughs, such as the belief that “AI will solve everything.”
- Desirable – Crafted intentionally around values, justice, and long-term wellbeing.
👉 True strategic clarity cannot rest on fear. It requires courage—the courage to name and design the futures we want.
The Future Is Misrepresented
Too often, the dominant images of the future are dystopian: disaster movies, collapse narratives, and planetary boundaries framed only as threats.
While the science is sobering—
- Global biodiversity has declined by 69% since 1970.
- The average French citizen carries a 14-ton annual material footprint.
- Planetary boundaries are being exceeded through extraction, pollution, and inequality.
—feeding only despair risks disengagement. Hope and agency are equally vital if we are to mobilize.
Reconnecting with the Living
Tarik reminded us: we are not separate from nature—we are nature.
- All life shares a common ancestor.
- The Earth is materially closed: resources must circulate.
- Ecosystem services—provisioning, regulating, cultural—are not optional extras.
The shift is profound: we must move beyond the mindset of “protecting” nature, toward realizing:
“We are nature protecting itself.”
From Crisis to Metamorphosis
What if our time is not just a series of crises to be managed, but a metamorphosis—an irreversible transformation?
Even business language reflects this shift:
- From strategy to ecosystem.
- From mechanism to organism.
- From value chain to life cycle.
This evolution signals a deeper cultural desire to reconnect with the living world.
Lessons and Reflections
- Acknowledging bias – Our historical lenses restrict imagination. Meeting diverse perspectives—and learning from nature—broadens horizons.
- Fear as a starting point – Rather than paralysis, fear can spark courage and responsibility.
- Experimentation – Change doesn’t come by waiting for others. We can experiment at the edges while living within current systems.
- Pioneering shifts – Research shows if 25% of a group changes, the rest may follow. Courageous pioneers can trigger tipping points.
- Narratives matter – Instead of stories of blame or doom, we can craft stories of possibility.
“It rains and I take the bike, living it like an adventure—let’s enjoy that ride.”
Closing Thought
The past is past. The future is unwritten. Between fatality, pride, and uncertainty lies a fourth way:
present-based activation, crafted intentionally around values, justice, and long-term wellbeing.
By reconnecting with life, cultivating courage, and experimenting with possibility, we can shift from crisis management to metamorphosis.
🌱 The future, after all, is not something that happens to us—it is something we co-create.
