The Man Who Saw Tomorrow

The road not taken in HR corridors

Two twins woke up one morning in opposite ends of the Earth. While they were physically in entirely different time zones, the real difference was that their attitudes were poles apart. While one was a die-hard optimist, the other was a pessimist. The optimist got out of bed faced with the inevitable truth that the financial markets were in a freefall; what he could do was keep the team at work motivated enough to stick it out together in the tough times. Financial instability had threatened his mid-size stock-broking firm before, but they had always managed to stay afloat. His twin, the pessimist, woke up to the same reality of financial peril. But he decided to stay in bed, hoping for a miracle. The last time this happened was in 2008, and all he could do was watch his carefully handpicked team disintegrate in the face of uncertainty.    

This may sound like a story, but it’s far from being mere fiction. Fact and fiction are more alike than you would think. Just like in fiction, in reality too the hard-working and determined ‘good guys’ realise their dreams. Reality can have a ‘happily ever after’, as long as you plan for it and work towards it. You know how they say, ‘if wishes were horses…’? It turns out they are right! I do believe that we can wish things into existence. It is all in the mind, as long as we act to realise what we dream of.

Deep down inside, we know what we want. Our instincts and guts are constantly trying to egg us on in the right direction. Just like in the story above, there are two sides to our personalities – the optimist and the pessimist. The optimist in us uses all our faculties – our thoughts, dreams, ambitions, aspirations and passions to see the future and make it come true!

It’s easy to predict the future, by simply creating it! It is likely that you have heard this before, but let me explain how very possible this is. The easiest way to see tomorrow is to dream it. Keep aside the apprehensions, don’t think of how feasible the idea is, how practical the plan is, or what the historical data suggests. Start dreaming. Then, look at those dreams and aspirations as predictions that will come true sooner or later.  All you have to do to make them come true is to action those plans. Think of every step; all the small acts that are needed to reach that goal.

Think back to the last time you were faced with a dilemma. Some of the questions that must have faced you are – what is critical? What is the first thing that needs to be done? Instinctively, you try and answer these to the best of your ability so that you can dispel that dilemma. This is the same process to ‘predicting the future’. We are naturally wired to think logically and systematically in order to achieve an ideal.  Think through enough, and then act on those directions; and voila! Before you know it, you’d have achieved your goal. Basically, we all know where we want to go and we intrinsically have an action plan. The problem arises when we don’t spell the plans out to ourselves, and when we don’t act on the instructions of our inner voice.

It is believed that memories never go away, that they are merely buried deep in the subconscious level of the mind. When the right stimuli is presented, memories resurface surprising even ourselves. It is exactly the same with our desires and aspirations. A little bit of reflection and determination reveals not only our aspirations and motivations, but plans and ways to achieve our goals.

I’m a strong proponent of going with the gut. It has this way of telling us if we are right or wrong, if things are possible or over-ambitious, and if we are ready for it or not. In reality, we all know the future, but it is only the successful people who walk the talk, action their sentiments and take destiny in their own hands. Successful leaders create their destiny by working on their plans. You might question how possible or easy this is. Let me tell you from personal experience that what you desire is far more accessible that it seems in your dreams, it’s just a matter of breaking it down to small actionable steps.

Here is an easy way to begin. Every morning is a new beginning, and a way to look at yourself and your ambitions anew. Pick a morning, let yourself think. Let the novelty of the day refresh you and prepare yourself to achieve what you dream. Precedents of innovators show us that whatever we think of is possible in some way, otherwise we wouldn’t even be able to imagine it. We just need the effort and foresight to action it. If you think these are philosophical ramblings, then give it a shot, you have nothing to lose, but everything to gain. We love to hear people tell us that we have it within us, but we don’t quite trust ourselves. The honest truth is that we don’t need anyone to tell us anything; the strength is within us – waiting to be awakened.

Start now. Predict an outcome that you desire. Dig deep inside yourself and chalk out a plan to achieve it, I am certain you will conquer it and beat the deadline too!

Nostradamus predicted; “Indeed, the hereditary gift of prophecy will go to the grave with me.” I dare say that I completely disagree. Each one of us has the power within, to change this – to challenge the idea that predicting the future is the privilege of the gifted. Let us start today.

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Kaustubh Sonalkar is the most unlikely hero you’d expect to find in serious HR corridors. Disruption runs through his veins, and ideas come to him at the speed of light. Keep up with Kaustubh as he shares his thoughts through this un-blog.