Futures Consciousness

What is futures consciousness and how to develop it.

Futures consciousness is the explicit awareness of the innate human ability to anticipate and imagine futures in the present -  just as we are conscious of our physical selves, we can also become aware of how we think about futures.

We think about the future every day, but we are usually not conscious of the constraints our assumptions that are shaping those thoughts. One way of becoming aware of how the factors that contribute to our ability to become futures consciousness is to take the Futures Consciousness Test which is designed to help you identify the five  primary factors that influence how you think about 'the future':

• time perspective,

• agency beliefs,

• openness to alternatives,

• systems perspective, and

• concern for others.

Once you have taken the test, you will get a report -you will be stronger in some areas than others - with some suggestions for simple exercises you can do to further develop your capacities. Spend a  little time reflecting on the results and see if any new perspect…