Is it time to think big?

This seems to be the where the inspiration is coming from, waking up and having the distinctive urge to put pen to paper and then into the digital ether. Given the average human, spends on average, 229,961 hours asleep - we might as well programme our subconscious to do something productive as legacy planners...

In my last installment within this theme of Legacy Planning, I talked about one of the first practical steps on a journey towards Legacy Planning; being aware.

https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/joshua-singh-mrtpi-%F0%9F%92%AB-5021311b_planningourfuture-activity-7162008790777737216-gWvz?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

In essence, this was aimed at giving readers a sense of confidence to root themselves in the "now", unshackled & unashamedly with a focus looking at the bigger picture without fear. Yet, perhaps the next practical step towards Legacy Planning is a question or two:

What is the bigger picture and how can we plan for that?

This is where we need to go on a journey from our individual "now", across the Universe and back to our collective vision of the perpetual survival of humanity, clinging on to Gaia as she follows her own path of legacy.

As we take this second big step, readers should either be filled with excitement or a fear of the unknown (and everything in between). This will very much depend on whether the first step of being aware made a difference in reframing the reality you see around you and whether your fears of the present are melting away, to reveal a confidence that you are a master planner, creating change all around you.

Which leads us to how we pose, and, from what viewpoint one answers the question at hand and each individuals perception of the bigger picture. Where do we start, where do we begin at planning with the bigger picture in mind? Do we look back into the depths of the past, analysing history to see solutions to problems still ever present in the "now" and the pathways to planning the future? Perhaps, we need to gaze into the future, to acknowledge the timelines playing out all around us?

What do we see? What do you see? Take a minute to ponder this and see what springs to mind about your position and your bigger picture in the reality you have rooted yourself in. Perhaps spend a few minutes to write your thoughts down, trust me it helps...

From a Legacy Planning standpoint; Step 1 taught us to be aware of the opportunity to plan and create the reality around you, it encourages us to do this from a position of positivity, imagination and fearlessness.

Step 2 wants to teach us to start to go beyond the horizon fixed in front of us. It wants planners, those shaping reality all around us to think deeper & bolder for the answers to make a real difference, rather than be shackled by a horizon steeped in a era of inherent regulation of the mind, body, space, land and soul. Stifling our ability to go beyond the current norms accepted by society and ratified by policies rooted in fear. Once we start to re-calibrate our vision to an individual passion of what you perceive the opportunity for a bigger picture to be, the easier it gets to re-align our planning mindsets to one of making a difference and creating a legacy we can all be proud of, for the perpetual survival of humanity on Gaia.

If we can all do this; without fear; with positivity and with a bigger picture in mind; we really can begin to shift the profession as one with a collective privilege and collective subconscious, where we all intertwined on #PlanningOurFuture with legacy in mind.

I would hope, and wish for a future that seems a little bit brighter, just by the first two practical steps towards Legacy Planning:

"Being aware & being able to think big"

Condensed into one: those two steps are trying to teach us to think....the lost art of thinking; the lost art of planning...

Once you start thinking about Legacy Planning, you can't stop thinking about Planning a Legacy. If not for yourself, for the next generation and the ones following - in the future watching us from the past...

For the next installment, I'll start to offer a more concise viewpoint of the nuts + bolts of the bigger picture, as I see it! My "Planning for 2070" vision gives a hint of the timeline I think we're on: https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/joshua-singh-mrtpi-%F0%9F%92%AB-5021311b_planfluencers-rtpifuturists-planningourfuture-activity-7156307250242863104-gd1W?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

I'd love to hear from people though, what do you think the bigger picture means for you? So please comment below and let's get some thinking going!

#RTPIfuturists #PlanningOurFuture #LegacyPlanning

Joshua Singh

Royal Town Planning Institute National Young Planner of 2023 and RTPI West Midlands Young Planner of 2023.