The year is coming to an end and, wherever we look, the world seems to have gone mad. We all know that we live in a scenario with tremendous challenges on multiple levels. How we choose to work with these challenges has a lot to do with the narrative we want to listen to and embrace. I feel as if we are at the height of a trend where polarisation and confrontation are (or someone wants them to be) the norm. The resulting tension leaves society (and organisations) confused, trapped in useless discussions, paralysed, hopeless and afraid of how things will develop in the future. But it is at times like this that, more than ever, we must stop asking our gpt for solutions and use that precious human resource we all have: critical thinking.
Jim Dator says that there is not just one future, but as many futures as we can imagine (thank you very much, Elisabet Rosselló). In a world where everything is upside down and where the unthinkable can happen (for better or for worse) it makes little sense to listen to predictions, all of them biased, that make us think that there is a predetermined future we must accept with resignation. In fact, the future is built day by day, in the present. It is built on the small daily choices we make and that we consider have no impact because we have been led to believe that what we, simple individuals, do does not matter. Of course it matters. It matters what social network you decide to be in or not. It matters whether or not you decide to share that comment that spreads hate even if at first it looks like a funny meme. It matters what you decide to spend your money and time on. It matters who you decide to support with your “like” and what that implies. No matter how we look at it (as a worker, as a citizen, as a neighbour, as a consumer, as a user, …), our small actions go one way or the other: either they feed the beast that talks about that predetermined future that someone has decided for us and that we must abide by, or they make us weave new possible futures where we all participate because we all have our space in this world.
With this scenario in mind, in 2025 I choose to continue weaving new futures tirelessly, without epic but with coherence. And I celebrate that every day, on my path, I am meeting more and more people who are aware of the key moment in which we live and who contribute at a social and organisational level to create better futures for all, where no one is left behind. Because, at the end of the day, this is what thriving is all about. So, I wish you a thriving 2025, shaker community! Huge thanks for building the future!
