The Future is Now

Happy New Year to you all.

There is much talk of ‘good riddance’ to 2020 and looking forward to a better year in 2021.

Unfortunately, the vagaries of the calendar don’t make change happen: people do.

When I was growing up in the 1970s, I thought the world in 2021 would include a moon colony, local space travel and ubiquitous jetpacks. Reading Dan Dare in The Eagle does this to an impressionable young mind.

Watching the original series of Star Trek also led me to believe that we would have a united planet of peoples. Mankind would have a common purpose, poverty and hunger would be eradicated and so would petty arguments over territory.

How wrong we were.

It has been so easy to shout into echo chambers and blame everyone who doesn’t look or behave like us for the problems of the world.

People used to rail against being told what to do when the laws requiring the mandatory wearing of seat-belts and then motorbike helmets were introduced. Then it was only the unfortunate people in the pub that had to listen.

Now everyone is an expert on epidemiology as well as how to manage a Premier League football club and can shout around the world about it.

2021 more like 2099

Our isolated and separated societies resemble the city blocks of Mega-City One in Judge Dredd set in 2099.

The seminal storyline, ‘Block Mania’, shows what happens when petty rivalries descend into an all-out conflict with neighbours fighting neighbours before losing to the bigger enemy (in that case Nuclear attack).

Making 2021 better

If we want to make 2021 a ‘better year’, then we have to start with ourselves.

Taking responsibility for our own health requires discipline and sometimes support and guidance.

Fatigue, economics, depression, societal norms, and availability of affordable options make choosing sensible eating and activity levels difficult (but possible) for many.

This is why local and national governments need to think strategically about investing our tax money in parks, pathways, and schools so that all citizens can benefit.

Regulations on food advertising and product placements in supermarkets are the stick that needs to be wielded to help us all.

If you have two toddlers in tow, are worried about paying the bills and have had a rubbish day at work, then your willpower to ‘make the right choice’ is at its lowest ebb.

But if the Twix isn’t on the supermarket checkout shelf we won’t be tempted to buy it when we are tired and in need of a ‘pick-me-up.’

Empathy

In 1993 I was about to leave Taunton to start work in a health club in London. I asked my teacher at SCAT, the great Roy Parsloe, for some advice.

 He said, ‘Have empathy.’

Those words have stuck with me and seem more apt than ever. Whilst it may be unrealistic to, ‘Love thy neighbour,’ we can at least tolerate them and show some empathy for their world.

There have been many acts of kindness on many different levels in our local communities. Many people are doing great work that is unrecognised: small sustainable, local projects make a difference.

They are like stones thrown into a pond and the ripples can spread further afield. One good deed can lead to another.

If we want to make our society better in 2021 we need to have empathy for others. or at least try to understand their world.

Take care of your health, have empathy, help your local community.

The Future is now: what type of world do you want to live in?

Further reading:

• Discipline versus liberty: how your actions affect society.
• Choosing the right equipment for your local park.
• How to do a Health self-diagnostic.