Five Ways You Should Prepare Yourself For A Chaotic Future

Pro tip: don’t die for a stupid reason

The future is scary.

Like, not just “omg what’s going to happen it could be anything ahhhh” but, “OMG there are a lot of big things happening like robots, climate change, and the poles are totally due to flip any day now AHHHH!!”

If you’re losing sleep at night due to existential dread, you’re not alone.

Imagine, though, that you could acknowledge the terrifying possibilities of our time, while still living with a sense of hope and optimism for the future.

It’s possible! But you have to get your ducks in a row.

Here are five things you can do to give yourself a sense of security (and maybe even excitement!) as we barrel into the unknown.

1. Prep Your Home For Climate Change

Ok, let’s be honest: climate change is freakin’ scary. It’s causing destructive storms, ferocious floods, and horrific wildfires.

So it’s a solid move to check out the most likely climate change catastrophes in your area and make sure you’re ready.

Are you in a floodplain or near the ocean? Switch on that sump-pump. Is your local energy grid a bit “rickety”? A solar panel wouldn’t go astray. And if forest fires are “a thing” near you, maybe it’s time to consider a move.

At the very least, pull together an emergency preparedness kit.

2. Talk To Your Neighbors

Just as Covid was starting to lock everything down last year, I moved house.

Unfortunately, the whole “social distancing” thing made me a little nervous about interacting with my neighbors. That’s not good, because having good connections to people nearby can be a huge benefit if things go sideways. (Or at least after a snowstorm and one of them has a snowblower…)

Don’t be like me. Find out who lives next to you and give them a smile.

You can go a lot further than that, though. A great way to be sure your community is prepared for natural disasters, or even just offers services online instead of by snail mail, is to get engaged.

Go to public meetings! Join committees! Run for office!

If your local government has its act together, then your life gets easier. And they’re way more likely to do what you want if you’ve got skin in the game.

3. Eat Your Veggies

Medical science is advancing faster than you might think.

We’re learning how biology works so well that scientists are not only “turning off” diseases before they start; they’re reversing the aging process entirely.

Live forever? If you’re skeptical, I get it. Death is a part of life, right?

But look at it this way: treatments and cures for diseases add time to your life. If we get to a point where science is adding more than a year to your life for every year you’re alive… well, you’re going to live a pretty darn long time.

With that said, we’re not there yet. So besides building positive relationships, you should eat your veggies, exercise, and don’t die from something stupid (like lung cancer from smoking).

4. Be a Lover (of Lifelong Learning)

“To survive and flourish in [the future], you will need a lot of mental flexibility and great reserves of emotional balance.” — Yuval Noah Harari

A common reaction to the idea of living forever is “won’t you get bored?” Maybe, but that’s kind of a choice, isn’t it? There’s so much to do and learn!

In fact, folks like Mr. Harari quoted above think we’re going to have to become really good at learning new things if we don’t want to be bowled over by super-intelligent machines in the coming decades.

The good news is that learning can be fun! In fact, you’re kinda doing it right now by reading this. This is fun, right? :D

Point is, you’re probably going to have to reinvent yourself on the regular from now on if you’re to lead a fulfilling life. So with that in mind, here’s a great overview of the most popular “learning how to learn” course ever.

5. Sock Away a Bit of Crypto

If you’ve heard of “crypto” before, you’re either super pumped I’ve brought it up, or you’re rolling your eyes and reaching for the “Back” button.

Put aside the sensational headlines about price speculation, hackers, and money launderers for a second, and hear me out!

The technology behind buzzwords like cryptocurrency, NFTs, and DAOs is called blockchain, and it’s revolutionary.

Here’s the thing: blockchain is what’s going to make everything we do online safe and secure. It’s quickly replacing banking services, giving artists a way to sell their digital art, and making games a lot more fun.

In other words, blockchain is solving a bunch of problems, and that means it’s here to stay. So start learning about it and buy a few coins. You’ll thank me later ;)

Look Forward To The Future

Yes, there’s plenty of uncertainty about what’s to come. When things are happening so quickly, it’s natural to be anxious.

But if you take the steps above, you can relax a bit and realize that the future is going to be frickin’ amazing.

Get ready!