#82 Be Forward Looking

As a kid there was always something to look forward to – the possibility of getting the birthday or Christmas present I had so long wished for, the next summer holiday with my family and friends and all the fun we would have, or being finally old enough to ride my first little 50cc motorbike and all the independence and freedom I would enjoy. In other words, there was always some promised future event that would spark my imagination with all the possibilities that it would open up. I was always fueled with excitement for life. When we grow older, this excitement for life often slows down or even completely vanishes. Maybe we are just too busy with our daily lives to imagine the possibilities of the future. Or perhaps, as we get older we’re just not as excitable anymore as we collect more and more experiences and believe we already know what’s going to happen. Some of us even think back with nostalgia, presuming that the best times lie behind them. But here’s the thing: When you take some time on a regular basis to look forward, to learn about the possibilities that lay ahead of us, you can’t help but get more excited and optimistic about the future. When you learn about the huge advances in renewable energy technologies that will enable us to live in a 95% renewable energy world within decades, with a handful of countries already living off more than 90% renewable energy, you begin to feel more optimistic about climate change. When you learn that within a few decades, you might be able...