3 tips on how to design a more conscious future
Life is like a magic carpet ride. Read my 3 tips on how to start designing a more conscious future.
You’re creating your future each moment. You have approximately 25 000 moments each day that offer slots for decision making. 25 000 moments when things happen and you experience something. Each moment is contributing to your life and making it what it is today. Each decision has an impact in your life, your loved ones life and impact in the society you’re living in. What were the most meaningful moments for you this year? What happened during this year? What did you say yes to? What did you say no to? What was waiting for you to say yes but you didn’t for some reason?
Now, that the year is coming to an end, I’m sharing 3 tips on how you can design a more conscious future. They’re all somewhat interrelated but I wanted to take them each separately to emphasise their importance. I know, they could’ve all been under whynotism :D. I had you on mind when compiling these and realised that these actually apply to companies as well. So, you ready? Let’s GO!
1. Take risks, question your reality
Number one is to take risks and stop being fixed to what you think your reality is.
We all live in a somewhat mutual reality, yet our experiences of the same moment are always subjective, different from each other. Think about in what kind of reality you lived 20 years ago and in what reality you’re living today. They might look very different and above all, feel different. Your reality is unique. Your obstacles are different from your friends. Our vision of what a good life is can be similar, yet can vary dramatically around the world. Still, I believe the core human needs are present everywhere although defined by cultures and norms.
When designing your future, dreaming where you want to be, where your community or organisation wants to see itself - gaze beyond the obvious. Don’t take the current reality as an eternal truth. What you probably often do - at least I do - is that I become attached to some outcome and close my eyes of what could be. To be able to question the paradoxes of choice you’re facing in your life, the best medicine is to take risks. Taking risks is essential to creating new. No risk = no joy?
Our realities can be designed and recreated. We often start creating new realities and new lifestyles after accidents and dramatic life happenings. But it doesn’t have to be like that. There’s another way. A more conscious way that starts with questioning why you’re doing something and becoming more aware of your reactions.
2. Ask why not
Life is the outcome of your choices. Stop for a while and ask why not.
At the core of future creation is a mindset I invented a year and half ago. It’s called #WHYNOTISM. Whynotism encourages you to try, experiment and do something that you strongly feel is right, even if the odds were against you. The core of whynotism is very simple - to ask why not. Why this and why not that? Whynotism is at the core of decision making, at the core of a momentum, at the core of humanity. Our life consists of why not moments that sometimes lead to good things and sometimes disappointments. Life is all of that and we need to learn to live it like that.
It’s good to be aware of the opposite of whynotism. It’s called comfort zone. To be honest, I’m not sure if it’s at all that comfortable. Comfort zone is culturally, normatively and behaviorally generally accepted state where you can bathe in ease until you start drying on the inside like a raisin. We need inspiration, we need experiences, we need to say why not to the things we, on the inside, feel we should. There might be something in your life today that you’re wanting to say yes to and you haven’t. Listen to your inner compass dear.
Life’s like a magic carpet ride and sometimes the carpet breaks, wind is too weak or we loose our sense of direction. Comfort zone is a place where we find ourselves hidden from the opportunities, saying no to the chance to step out and own our lives. You’re saying yes to dull and no to the possibility of finding moments of joy and bliss. Staying too long in comfort zone will paralyze your creativity and the opportunity to be you. Life is all about taking risks and experimenting your own limits in relation to the surrounding environment, people and ideas. What’s tickling your senses and to what would you like to say why not to?
Why not? Say yes to the things that resonate strongly with you. Image courtesy: Drahomir Posteby-Mach, Unsplash
Why not? Say yes to the things that resonate strongly with you. Image courtesy: Drahomir Posteby-Mach, Unsplash
3. Let go and go for it
The success factor of future leading companies and individuals is the “e-thing”.
No, not electronics, nor estimations. It’s the culture of experimentation! YES! Experimentation has a very positive vibe to it, doesn’t it?
Experimentation is one of my favourite things. Letting go of all the expectations and just going for it, giving a permission to test is wonderful. Remember when you had a crush on someone and you didn’t quite know what the other person thinks or feels. The scary and exciting part is not knowing what’s coming next. Yet, for some reason, you were being optimistic that everything would turn out fine, and slowly you fell in love. Romantic babe, romantic. That’s experimentation.
Personally, my favourite moments of creation have been creating music, art, improvising, speaking, knitting or doing pretty much anything creative and feeling that I’m just sinking into another level where I forget everything else around me. So good. I believe, experimentation is one of the most important things when wanting to get into a flow state.
But there’s one thing that kills it. Pessimism is like a gunshot to the heart of experimentation. It’s like having a text on your shirt saying NO. So let’s focus on the YES to good things and YES to listening to yourself.
Say yes to a life that you don’t need to hide from. A calm life where you finally stand up as yourself and let yourself shine. You are enough. You are important.
-Satu Heikinheimo
P.S. Some snapshots of my why not life can be found on IG: satuheikinheimo