10 steps to take right now to prepare for the future

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Learn to program. And consider freezing your stool, eggs, or sperm. It is not joke.

If it seems to you that the world is changing very quickly and it is more and more difficult to find your place in it, you don’t think.

In his column on the popular tech blog TechCrunch, futurist Jamie Metzl explains what needs to be done now so as not to lose your job, money, health and yourself in the fast-approaching future.

1. Do your best to stay young

Today it seems fantastic, but tomorrow aging can move from the category of "inevitable process" to the category of treatable (albeit partially) diseases. Scientists are discovering more and more ways to slow down the pace of our internal biological clock. This means that soon doctors will start prescribing pills, gene therapy and other procedures and manipulations that will help stop aging.

Since most of the most frightening ailments are associated with age, aging treatment will significantly postpone the date when a person could develop cardiovascular diseases, dementia, and cancer. We will be able not to grow decrepit for a long time. But there is an important nuance here.

It's about stopping the withering process, not bringing back youth. If at the time of the appearance of the pills for old age, the biological age of your body is 45 years, the pills will keep you at this level. But it is unlikely that they will be able to return your body to the capabilities and health of a 25-year-old. Therefore, it is in your interests to hold out until the era of victory over old age as young as possible. Not in the passport, but in the physiological sense.

This means that you must take care of your body today. Commit to physical activity for at least 45 minutes a day. Eat a healthy, mostly plant-based diet. Sleep at least 7 hours a day. Avoid the active sun. Stop smoking. Communicate more with people. This will keep you young.

2. Monitor your health

If you want to stay healthy for as long as possible, you need a way to regularly assess whether you are on the right track.

Tracking the state of the body with the help of annual checks of blood, urine and feces, analysis of physical activity and sleep (fitness trackers help with this), MRI of the whole body, colonoscopy and other procedures seem overkill for many. On the other hand, waiting for a symptom to start taking care of your health is like waiting for your car to roll down a hill to check its brakes.

Medical statistics are unforgiving. Even the healthiest of us can be in the early stages of the development of this or that disease, which will certainly manifest itself over the years.

In the future, society will inevitably shift from a model of caring for sick people already in trouble to preventive health care - one that tries to prevent the obvious symptoms of disease from appearing. Who do you want to be in this society - a "dinosaur" living according to the old model, or a pioneer of a new one? You decide.

3. Freeze basic biological materials

Our body contains many things that could save us in the future … But alas: every morning we flush some of them down the toilet. Take at least feces. It could potentially be frozen to give us back our "native" gut bacteria later if our own gut microbiome is damaged by antibiotics or disease.

Skin cells are also important. They can be turned into stem cells, which will later help rejuvenate aging organs and tissues.

If in the future the treatment becomes personalized - that is, it will be carried out using our own biomaterials, it is advisable to fix (for example, freeze) these materials at a younger age.

We invest in a bank to ensure our financial security in the future. Exactly the same should be done with biomaterials. They are our health insurance.

4. Freeze eggs or sperm if you want to have children in the future

People will gradually move from conceiving through sex to conceiving through IVF and embryo collection. This, of course, is less exciting than "patching up a child" in the back seat of a car. But the benefits are undeniable: selection of embryos will help reduce the risk of having children with genetic disorders or health problems.

If you reserve the opportunity to become a parent in the future, freeze sperm or eggs.

5. Control your public image

The days when people could remain incognito are over. Each of us (even those who do their best to avoid it) leaves an impressive digital footprint. And it becomes an integral part of our personality and life. For example, the Chinese government is introducing a social credit rating system, in which every citizen is rated based on their digital footprint - online behavior and real life recorded by digital devices. The lower this indicator, the more difficult it is to gain access to social benefits.

But even in much more liberal societies, we are increasingly being judged on the basis of our "digital identity." What we publish on social networks, what we buy in online stores, what we look for in search engines, with whom and how we interact on the Web - it may depend on whether we will be hired, given a loan, and whether the person we like will reciprocate.

There are active discussions today about how to establish control over the collection and use of personal data in order to protect people. But even if such control is not implemented, it will not change the new reality: our digital footprint will forever remain fixed, will significantly affect our life and even represent us after death.

Based on this, each person should start thinking of himself as a brand for which the image is above all. Try to do everything so that your digital footprint presents you only as the person you would like to appear.

6. Learn to program

Or at least in general terms, understand how the code language works. Our life is more and more governed by various algorithms that many of us do not understand. A simple example: people used to find their way from memory or using maps. Now they use smartphones with GPS navigators.

Algorithms that affect different aspects of our lives are getting better. Accordingly, we will increasingly rely on them, making plans and even making serious life decisions.

Of course, figuring out how each program works is most likely impossible. But you should at least understand what code is and how it functions before relying on someone else's written algorithm.

7. Become multicultural

In the 18th century, in order to achieve success, it was enough to know and understand the mentality of Europe - since it was the European powers that controlled the world at that time. In the 20th century, the United States took the place of the leader: it was they who largely determined the life of mankind. But today there are more and more such regions.

With the rise of China and taking into account the general trend towards decentralization of power, it is necessary to learn more about the Celestial Empire, India and other "centers of power", their population, culture and traditions. This will not only help you become a more versatile person, but it will also increase your chances of business and personal success.

The good news is that people interested in learning about other societies today have more resources to do so than ever before. If you want to fit into a multicultural future, start expanding your knowledge of other cultures now.

8. Love to learn

The world has changed throughout the history of mankind, but never before have these changes been so rapid. Today, most of our knowledge becomes obsolete, as soon as we have time to acquire it. To keep pace with the changing world, you will have to devote your life to continuous, endless and creative acquisition of new knowledge.

A key skill that anyone who hopes to survive in the realities of the future needs is the ability to learn with inspiration, without stopping.

9. Surround yourself with real, not virtual friends

Humanity is a social species. We were able to climb to the top of the food chain and create civilization in large part because our brains are optimized to cooperate with those around us. And this interaction is critically important for the brain: it's not for nothing that people in solitary confinement often go crazy.

Today, communication is becoming more and more virtual. Chatbots and digital assistants replace our interlocutors, we communicate with friends on social networks, and we realize our need to be heard there. However, we, living people of flesh and blood, still need the company of the same people nearby. In order not just to say a word, but also to hug, to feel the hand on the shoulder, to support each other, including physically.

Friends, as lively and real as ourselves, are needed by everyone. Invest time and effort to create such a friendly circle around you. It will support your brain as well.

10. Don't get stuck in the past

Trees used to be greener, of course, friendship was stronger, relationships were more disinterested. Why, we even went to school 15 kilometers away every day, not like modern spoiled children!

Of course, the past is something to be proud of. You need to look for support in it. But at the same time, it is necessary to understand: today we live in the present and inevitably go into the world of the future. This is where our gaze should be directed. Most likely, it will look like science fiction. The technologies of the future will be radically new, and we will need the best of our past values to use our discoveries wisely.

This combination of an interested look ahead and time-tested values behind the back is exactly what is needed to stand on solid ground. Even if the fast-approaching future seems to be knocking you off your feet.