Imagine, your absolute best future. Or the future of your country. What do you want your town or city to look like 20 years from now?
Do you ever think about these questions?
It seems to me that we are much more occupied with getting rid of things. “If only my self-centred boss would go.”
If only Putin would step down. If only Trump would stay out of politics. But what would Russians want Russia to be like 50 years from now? Or Americans America?
The world is in dire need of visions and visionaries.
Every politician risk having a microphone put under their nose whenever they step outside. And we are so willing to condemn them for every little hiccup. Seldom are leaders allowed to express any dreams about the future.
Churchill could spend weeks preparing his memorable speeches. This is not the only reason, but part of the reason why we have to look at the past to find good examples of visionaries.
Franklin D. Roosevelt was one of them. He installed vivid pictures in people’s minds of a brighter future, during the dire 1930s depression in America. All the people on any list of great leaders in the past were visionaries.
The post-war Labour government in Norway had visions for what they wanted Norway to look like. Not in the next five years, but in the next 50. Not everything they did was right. Demolishing working-class quarters and replacing them with hideous architecture. Promoting “the good housewife” as the ideal woman. But most of their visions were right and came to pass.
How often do we come across good visionaries today?
Without visions, we will deteriorate.
Every country, every community and every family have their problems. You have to be realistic about where you stand. But you also need to be audacious about the future. If not, we will run around in circles, creating new problems. We will deteriorate.
We dream of winning the big lottery. But what will you do with all that money? Many lists the obvious things. Big house. Fancy car. Travel the world. Will those things make you happy? In the long run? If you do not have a clear vision of what you want, there is a high chance you end up miserable. No matter the size of your bank account.
That does not only relate to individuals. People cried for democracy during the Arab Spring. Most of them had no idea what they wanted, or what democracy implies. They never had a chance to find out. Understandably, they just wanted to get rid of their dictators. And that is why the uprisings failed. Instead, other visionaries took the opportunity and usurped power. As the Islamic State in Syria or the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.
If you do not have good visions yourself, somebody else will come along and put their visions in place. And they might not have your interests in mind.
Have visions and get closer to them.
Another thing about visions is that you will probably never will achieve them. But with vivid visions, we will get much further, than you otherwise would have.
Countries have zero visions for drunk driving. They might never reach zero. But with such a vision, they take steps that bring them closer and closer to zero.
TV series like Midsomer Murders are highly popular around the world. Because, though we hardly dare to admit it, they portray the ideal place to live. Without all those murders, of course.
Most of us will never live in idyllic Midsomer villages. But the more we talk, act and Tweet about what a good places to live looks like, the more the world will resemble such places. Slowly, the world is awakening to the impact hideous modern architecture has on us.
Every progress we have ever made was regarded as impossible. Ending slavery was impossible. Same with child labour. Ending poverty. Women in politics. Gay marriages. All this progress came to pass due to great visionaries.
So, start dreaming.
What does your idyllic place to live look like? What is your vision of a good life?
p.s. This week’s picture is from Cēsis in Latvia. A good place to live. It just needs some paint.