We’ve been talking a lot about looking toward the future lately (in the BFA), and one of the things we’re trying to encourage people is to QTP their negative versions of the future.
Let me explain.
When you have the Futuristic Strength, and it’s acting as the Strength *should* act, you are basically time traveling forward into the future, seeing what will happen, and then time traveling back into the present moment to act in a way that will bring that future about.
(Granted, it can also act *not* like it’s supposed to, but that’s a different conversation. This is about how to look at the future like a healthy Futuristic.)
When a Futuristic person doomcasts, their job is to see the future, see what can be done about it, and then come back to the present day and change what needs to be changed to avoid that future. Or… change nothing, because the future is inevitable and we just need to become resilient for it. (Because that also happens.)
If you cannot time travel back to the present moment and hopecast forward… let me humbly suggest, you do not belong in the future. Because the people who can see the future and come back and help all of us get there… they can hopecast, in addition to doomcast. (We can do both equally, and we always understand, no future is ever certain.)
I’m all for being prepared. Yes. I’m all for doing what we can do in the moment. Yes.
But if all you’re seeing is negative futures, then you likely need to talk to someone whose Futuristic or Strategic is time traveling correctly, to help you see either what your agency is, and what you can do (besides worry about the future), or to understand who might be benefitting from you being so afraid about the future.
(And it’s not always who you think will benefit. Sometimes it’s your own negative patterns, and the gratification of old coping mechanisms. And yes, sometimes it’s other people.)
But if your negative or fearful vision of the future is too big for you to carry, don’t carry it alone. And always look for ways to find the hope moving forward. That’s our job, when we live in the future. To remind us that we always have agency. And we can always do something on behalf of the fear.
Fear, like all emotions, is supposed to be productive. So if it’s not “ending” in a feeling of “what can I do about this, and let me do it and then stop worrying,” I’m going to suggest an alternate. Discipline yourself not to think about the future. Shut off the voices that are telling you there’s something to be afraid of. Unless fear is productive, it’s not helping.
If all it’s doing is creating more fear, it’s not helping.
I’m sorry to be so pointy about this, but I’m just seeing too many of us looking for fear to solve our fear, and that’s not how it works. The places that are making you feel afraid… you need to turn your face away from them.
Practice resilience. Do what you can do to exercise your own agency. Write the next book. That’s what we can do, writers.
I will shut the comments down if we get too out of control. But I had to say this today. I’m just seeing too much doomcasting. For every time you doomcast, hopecast as well. We always have agency.
All my love.
– Becca
PS. As always, the caveat of: if you have an anxiety disorder, you ignore Becca and listen to your doctor. Or if you don’t resonate, it’s ok. But I’m hearing this enough, with lots of stuff in the publishing world, I needed to make the post.
