Seeing the possibilities…

Who would have thought…

• Gas prices would exceed $4 per gallon?
• GM would ever be on the edge of rumored bankruptcy?
• Millions of Americans would sign up for mortgages for which they later would be forced to default due to increasing interest rates combined with stunted home appreciation.

That children would be the most prevalent users of cholesterol lowering drugs?

And on a brighter note, who would have thought…

• That people would adopt new technology in such a fantastic way that cell phones would become primary telephones for many?
• That many cancers would no longer be a death sentence?
• That email and text messaging would become primary forms of communication?
• That consumer video would go from movie theaters to video cassettes, to dvds, to downloads from the cyberworld in a matter of about 20 years?

In our hurry up, busy, busy, busy society. I wonder if we take time to realize how many things have gone from crazy idea to reality. And then beyond that, I know that most of us don’t take time to think about all the future possibilities, both good and bad that exist from either second-order effects of what we do today…..or possible innovations that simply need someone to believe in and put into action.

Now, I do believe in practicalities. I am not the type of person who simply enjoys to dream up an unending list of possibilities….with no implementation of any in sight. However, I am an experiment of one. And I do know that when I was consumed by my life in Corporate America, I did not take time to THINK, as much as I should have…with respect to my job and with respect to my potential contributions to society.

I read recently about a study published by JAMA with striking data. Kids at age 9 are active on average 3 hours per day and kids at age 15 are active on average 30 minutes a day. And then pile on the articles of childhood obesity and the medical issues cropping up about that. Did many see this possibility 10 years ago as technology and digital platforms became a primary play, communication, and study mechanisms for our youth? Why did we not think about the second-order effects and try to counteract them? What can we do now to change the health habits of our kids knowing that they will likely always be techno-absorbed every day of their lives? It will not be as simple as telling them to get off the computer….which has become a primary social venue for them.

So, as we all pile on more, I think that more of us need to SCHEDULE in time to think, consider the possibilities and choose our own actions in concert with our own purpose, vocation….mission in life. On the activity level of our kids, I encourage all of us to consider ways to integrate our kids use of technology AND get them exercising more.