It’s been said (by many people, as it turns out) that’s it’s difficult and at times dangerous to make predictions about the future. Which is far from ideal, as the future is where we’ll spend the rest of our lives.

I think it’s possible to make educated guesses about what will generally be important to us moving forward; which isn’t the same thing, but may be a safer bet than trying to time the market or predict the precise shape of future trends and technologies.

One guess I made many year ago (and which has been guiding me ever since) is that however I change and however the world around me changes, I’ll need fuel. By which I mean I’ll need to somehow muster enough energy and purpose to actually do the stuff I want to do, very much including the health- and wellbeing-related tasks and activities that will make my continued psychological and bodily existence tolerable (and hopefully enjoyable).

Of course, we’re all different people and we’re thus motivated by different things.

I personally find that regular exposure to the unknown, to the novel, and to the surprising helps keep me excited, curious, and happily engaged with life’s frictions and challenges.

In contrast, I also enjoy developing and refining beneficial habits and rituals, which allows me to line the path I’m walking with more enjoyable, healthful, and fulfilling elements, over time.

These are small, fairly broad and general targets to aim at. But without them—without the power of small adjustments to predictable systems and sequences, and without the consistent opportunity to challenge and adjust my perspective with jarring newness—I wouldn’t be nearly as motivated to keep doing all that I do, nor would I have enough cognitive and creative energy in the tank to produce everything I want to produce.

The specific fuel-composition will be different for each of us, then, but figuring out what powers our inspiration and enthusiasm, what serves as an internal stimulant and drive, is just as important as determining where we’d like to go and what that intended destination will look like.

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