Shaping the future

We can consciously choose how we expend time and energy resources to change the world, by putting the work into understanding the external environment and our selves. With understanding of the world comes clarity in decision-making.

How can we shape the future?

We can shape the future by understanding our reality and acting effectively within it.

When we do not understand the world itself, other people, or our own minds, our actions do not have intended consequences. Things go awry, relationships fall apart, and we feel unfulfilled, unable to reach our goals.

When we do understand the world around us, when we see other people clearly, and when we understand what we truly want to accomplish in the world, we can choose actions that work in reality. It all starts with understanding reality itself - including the natural world, technological capabilities, other people, and ourselves.

Understanding our reality is not a passive process. It requires active engagement and critical thinking to dissect the complexities of the world we inhabit. We have to parse a signal from the noise, and figure out what's true.

How do we figure out what's true in this crazy world? We can use our critical thinking skills. We can talk out our assumptions and points of confusion with other people. We can be humble and take new information into account, instead of reflexively accepting or discarding information that agrees or conflicts with our existing knowledge.

Understanding our reality is not a passive process. It requires active engagement and critical thinking to dissect the complexities of the world we inhabit. We have to parse a signal from the noise, and figure out what's true.

By fostering the habit of continuous learning and adaptation, we can navigate life's personal and professional challenges. But we cannot shape the future world if we do not understand the present state of the world. We have to first put effort into changing our own minds, to adapt to our surrounding environment, before we can expect the world to bend to our desires. In short, to shape the future, we must be well-aligned with the present.

That is not to say we have to agree with the present - not at all. The goal is to understand the world as it is in the present moment, and to understand our own minds too, including the ways that we wish the world were different. Once we have done that - once we understand the world and our own minds - then we can take action to reduce the discrepancy between the way the world is and the way we want the world to be.

And if we put the effort into understanding the world before selecting an action, our decisions will be deliberate and our actions will be more effective. That means we must be creative and wise and patient, to make decisions that effectively shape the future.

We must be creative and wise and patient, to make decisions that effectively shape the future.

Thermodynamic computation is about expending time and energy resources toward accurately perceiving the world, building predictive models of the world, and selecting actions that achieve goals in that dynamic environment. This neuroscientific framework allows us to make conscious decisions on how to act within the world, as we perceive it.

Conifold Counseling uses this framework for thermodynamic computation as a process for helping people to consciously choose actions in the world. This process helps us to avoid short-term and wishful thinking, and prompts us instead to invest in building the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve agency. Once there is knowledge and agency, we can take action that effectively shapes the future.