---
description: >-
  Climate change and fear of the future: How activists and psychologists can
  save us from ourselves. Or: A book about engaging with the future as if the
  future has already arrived.
---

# Introduction

My aim with this book is to help you cope with the future - or to help you help others. Not all of us realise that we're stressed by the uncertainty the future provides (constantly) but it exists never-the-less. The book is certainly not intended to address what might be considered clinical diagnosis of anxiety but more our day-to-day unwillingness to really challenge the future and take ownership.

1. The first part provides a framework for engagement, either to help you **identify your current attitude or identify the most effective starting point for engaging others**
2. The second part provides a theory of change which is a little different from many others. Rather than being a step-by-step programme of activities it focuses on mindset. There is an important reason for this, because you are already engaged (you're reading this book) but **the task you have is to enable others to want to engage in the first place** - which likely requires a mindset change
3. The third part investigates your role in society and **how being a small cog can actually be highly significant!**

I was inspired to investigate the way we generally fail to engage with the future by the realisation that I wasn't as good at it as I thought I was. My usual response to something new is to try and delve into the principles and then turn them into something practical - hence this book!

Here's an example of the type of issue and approach to a solution the book tackles:

![Motivating future proofing](https://2450791852-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-Lt_P2m3XcfQcWGsSRZa%2F-LzHS9M1Dol3lBudmQPz%2F-LzHTT-dX3d-slgYbNJv%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=10d30f55-67c9-427d-af48-b40bb4a1c153)

* Climate change is happening and in future will get worse
  * So ideally we would tackle a source of future anxiety by realising and acting on the greater good to society
  * However...
* Human nature by default is to get anxious (to some level) about uncertainty and the future is of course always uncertain
  * We have many ways of dealing with anxiety that mostly involve avoidance of thinking about it
  * and...
* Most people will acknowledge a desire to change on the basis of self-interest rather than common interest
  * Climate change isn’t really about personal impact for most people if they even acknowledge the risk
  * So a double-whammy, not personal and you avoid thinking about it due to future anxiety issues
* As I hope to show in this book, there are ways to think differently which can mitigate anxiety (e.g. about the future)
* Thinking differently about the future can make you more likely to acknowledge problems and engage with change
* Hence this book, which links personal improvement with climate action focuses on tools to help engage on a personal level (i.e. highlight there is an issue which can be addressed – future anxiety) and then reduce (e.g. with creativity) future anxiety and so gain a mindset more likely to acknowledge and engage with climate change
* The approach isn't about telling you what to do

**Note on the tone of the book:** The content currently switches between addressing you the reader directly and a more formal technical approach.  This is part of the evolution of the content and will likely change over time. Apologies for any confusion.
