Becoming a good ancestor.

In our world of chaos and apathy, finding sources of energy and optimism can feel like a tall order.

I continue to think more and more about how to break free from the egoistical ways of looking for benefits and thinking only of ourselves.

"A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit." — Greek Proverb.

This is how I started to think about becoming a good ancestor; it can go from the [not so] little things like recycling, being mindful about how we use water and planting trees, to more important things like getting out of cozy comfort and trusting [hoping at times!] that what we do, will have an impact, even if we don't get to see it.

And then, I came across a podcast so inspiring and, needless to say, from a podcast series I had never listened to before that made a profound impact.

The world is full of reasons to be pessimistic. Massive problems, like climate change, are almost impossible to solve. Or social inequality, which seems impossible to eliminate.

However, the fact that we can recognize these problems is a reason for optimism.?

Every great and challenging thing that has been accomplished in the past requires a strong sense of optimism.

It's hard enough to create something good.

And then, there is no guarantee that we'll achieve what we aim for.

But we do know that IF WE DON'T BELIEVE in the POSSIBILITY of a better world,?it won't happen.

And it becomes essential that we imagine solutions to our problems and believe we can make them happen.

Beyond that, dedicate our energy without the guarantee we so desperately need that it will, in fact, be beneficial. Additionally, be ok that we shouldn't expect to see the results of our "efforts." (Delay gratification!)

However, optimists have shaped our history; if we want to shape the future, we need to be optimistic.

The world that we're shaping is not a world that's perfect. It's not perfection. There's no lack of problems.

There's no absence of bad things, is a world in which things are a little bit better.?

Optimism stems from the fact that history is a long string of successes.

Scientifically and rationally, it is evident that, on average, over time, there has been incremental improvement since the 1500s.

But what are we looking for? Why don't we bring this hopeful advancement front and center every day?

We humans tend to remember negative experiences far more than positive or neutral ones. This phenomenon is called the?negativity bias.?

Most of what we think of as progress is actually about what didn't happen, and it's about all the things that could have happened but didn't happen today—like a two-year-old child NOT dying of smallpox.

The fact that we can create a few percent more than we destroy each year makes civilization possible.?

Over time that slight difference is compounded, and civilization flourishes.

Another aspect of civilization is something that we struggle with in our daily lives, and we need to take it to the extreme.

Trust.

We have total strangers collaborating, allowing us to make things beyond ourselves.

That requires trust—trust in your business partner, colleague, and the?8 billion total strangers on this planet?and?in future generations.

Our generation is benefiting from the work of previous generations who have undergone to create the infrastructure, roads, canals, skyscrapers, and telephone networks that we are now enjoying.?

We are enjoying more benefits than they had back in the day when they began because we have better technology.

So they acted as good ancestors for us, sometimes even sacrificing what could be immediate benefits for them.

We also want to be good ancestors, which means bringing benefits to our descendants (as species, not only our family tree!).?

This is an active optimism because we believe there will be future generations.

To reap future rewards, it's essential to sacrifice some of the immediate benefits. Our ancestors knew this, and we should too.?

When we trust the future, we're also trusting that future generations will have better living standards and more knowledge, both of which will help them solve problems.

We can trust the fact that in the future, future generations will be able to solve problems that we cannot solve ourselves. Becoming a good ancestor is building now the tools we won't be able to use, but it will allow them to live better.

Now, about problems.

Optimists don't see problems.?

Optimism is about embracing problems because it's problems that make solutions and solutions that cause problems.

Most of the problems we have today are generated by the solutions.

There are some things we didn't know we didn't know, and so in a peculiar way, science is expanding our ignorance faster than our knowledge.

Science has an unlimited pool of questions and problems, but problems don't impede progress—problems are the conduit of progress. No problems, no progress.

So even the bad things that happen are opportunities for improvement.?

Problems are unlimited, and there is no limit for improvement. So we can improve ourselves in all directions.

We have a moral obligation to be optimistic because we can shape the future when we're optimistic.?

We can become better ancestors.?

We can use it as a power for the future that we want.?

"Everyone who seeks finds," and I only want to channel the energy to look for anything that builds.

Inspired by Kevin Kelly's TED Conferences : "The future will be shaped by optimists." Listen to the full episode here: https://www.ted.com/talks/kevin_kelly_the_future_will_be_shaped_by_optimists?rss=172BB350-0012