Never Static. Always Changing.

Check out these two hairstyles!

Back in 1974 short hair was, well, shorter than long hair! But by today’s standards, I reckon the ‘short’ haircut on the left isn’t that short.

What defined normal then isn’t what we’d call normal now.

How does change happen? I Googled ‘What causes hairstyles to change over time?’ Google says ‘popular culture’.

What shapes popular culture? Google says ‘youth’.

Which, if you think about it, makes sense. The exploratory, open-minded nature of younger people naturally leads to pushing against the status quo, and lots of different experiments. Some of which stick and go viral.

Substance vs. Style

Hair is genetically programmed to do what hair does. Its substance never changes.

Yet how hair looks changes constantly. Styles are ever-evolving.

Just like people. People, at their essence, do what people have always done. Yet the style of how people communicate, how people come together, and how people organise to get stuff done, is always up for evolution.

Which is a truth worth heeding if we're going to shape the future.

Our context, whether it be global, national, organisational, team, or our life, is likewise ever-evolving. And yet the future isn’t fixed. It’s malleable. We can shape it.

To shape the future you need a youth-like mindset. One that’s always looking for what could be possible, and is willing to try new ways. One that asks questions and follows where they lead.

Is that you?

Here are three questions you can ask to stay youth-like and shape the future:

• What's never changing, and what's ever-changing?
• What's up for an evolution now?
• What might I / we try?

For more like this, check out:

From Problem-Solving to Possibility Thinking

Be a Childlike Grownup