Is there someone in the world of your problem who seems ridiculously — maybe even naively — optimistic about the future? Even if you don’t share their views, what might you be able to learn from how this person or organization behaves?
We’re living in a time when pessimism is in vogue, and not without reason! I’m just as likely as the next person to doomscroll for an hour then wander into the next room and ask my wife if the world is coming to an end.
But one thing I have learned from years of teaching people about social change is that our views of the future are much more likely to be based on narrative than facts. And those narratives are almost always regulated by social norms. So one quick way to challenge those norms is to hang out with someone who isn’t following the narrative. Right now, that’s the optimists.
The trick to making this work is to put aside your desire to argue about the future long enough to learn. So what if you think this person is an idiot for thinking that cold fusion will save us from climate change or the end of the pandemic is right around the corner? What you are trying to do is study this person’s behavior and learn from it, not hire them as a soothsayer.
What person or organization is the naive optimist for your problem? Imagine for a moment that they and only they have a piece of the puzzle for solving your problem. What are you going to learn from them?
This question is an example of how to discover insights into a social problem using the future dynamic. It’s one of six innovation dynamics I use to help people improve their critical thinking and build strategies for social change. Reply to this e-mail with your answer to the question and we can get to work. Or learn more by visiting http://www.teachingsocialchange.com.