In 1985, almost forty years ago, Back To The Future hit cinemas and established itself as a must-watch franchise in record time. It tells the tales of a future (2015…) consumed by technology and digitised fashion accessories. We now live several years on from that projected date, and the obsession with integrated technology was not far off!
Entering the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) accelerated us faster than the DeLorean DMC-12 into a time that is characterised by a heavy reliance on connectivity. The culture and platforms we use for communication, making money, transport, running our businesses and sustaining relationships are considerably more involved and confusing.
Alongside this growth, we’ve also seen an increase in the need for life, business, personal, and wealth coaches. We used to live in a world where information was cumbersome, largely immobile and limited to those with access and means. The internet turned that upside down and inside-out. There are now very few gatekeepers to information and data, and they’ve made it overwhelmingly accessible.
Our great conundrum is how we discern what information is valuable and what data is irrelevant. To a degree, we already have algorithms in place that are feeding us the information, but at what point did these algorithms learn how we think and begin to tell us what to think?
Life was so much easier when we weren’t constantly feeling like we had to engage with a pinging phone or respond to emails sent mere minutes ago. Even our online meetings over Teams or Zoom hold the background distractions of other screens and notifications.
All this has made it even more important to hold reliable, trustworthy relationships that allow us the safety of deeper, more authentic conversations. Ironically, in a world where we can do almost everything online, we have a stronger yearning for the human touch. This is how we know we can make it over life’s highest hurdles, or through the muddiest trenches. Not because of what we know, but because of who we know.
The proliferation of choice can easily cause us to run with whatever is before us. Having a team of confidants who know what questions to ask, what decisions we consider the most valuable, and who are in it with us is where we can grow to find purpose. Some people might say that life was easier when we had fewer choices, and they might be right. But, having greater challenges to face means that we have greater rewards, deeper meaning and a truer sense of identity.
Who is helping you write and tell your story, and whose stories are you adding to?