To explore personal mindsets, attitudes and ways of relating to future changes in an embodied way.
About the tool
The exercise is done in pairs. One person is a Guide, and the other person is the Explorer. The Guide uses the given framework and the suggested questions to guide the Explorer’s exploration. The Explorer connects to their main theme to be explored, their context and their reactions to future changes. The Guide may write down some of the Explorer’s insights during the process. When the exercise is finished, both can jointly debrief it or reverse roles. The exercise can be used in an individual setting or as part of a workshop/training when the participants are split into pairs.
Process
Step 1. Setting the stage
Set the continuum on the floor with 5 marked places (one inner place per piece of paper):
- Victim
- Responder
- Partner
- Co-creator
- Creator
This continuum represents 5 possible “inner places” (positions) from which we relate to the societal trends and changes that are shaping how the future will emerge. To start, as a Guide, remind the Explorer that this exercise aims to explore the current and/or preferred way of relating to future changes and to experiment with possible and more effective ways.
When the Explorer is ready, support them in defining their exploration themes. These themes are typically related to societal trends that are emerging and that will likely influence what the future(s) of youth work will look like. For inspiration, you may read the research report “Futures of youth work” and pick up the most striking and relevant trends for your youth work context.
Some examples of exploration themes:
- The impact of demographic changes on our youth work practice
- Crisis of democracy and the future of youth work in my community
- Wars as the ‘new normal’ and the role of youth work
- The role of climate migration in youth work
- How to do youth work in a polarised world
- AI “replacing” youth workers
Step 2. Walk the continuum of positions
With the selected Exploration theme in mind, invite the Explorer to walk the continuum of positions, one by one, taking some time to explore each place.
- In this place, you feel you can do nothing about the future. It will just happen to you, without your influence.
- Feel the energy of this place and how it feels when you act from that energy…
- How familiar or unfamiliar is this place to you?
- What does it give you? And how does this place limit you?
- How is your inner strength, and what is your sense of agency based on in this place?
- What are your blind spots in this place?
- In this place, you feel you can only react to what has been imposed on you in terms of changes and external pressure. You can simply try to minimise the damage or defend against those changes that are beyond your control. You are always on guard, protecting what you have and know as present reality.
- Feel the energy of this place and how it feels when you act from that energy…
- How familiar or unfamiliar is this place to you?
- What does it give you? And how does this place limit you?
- How is your inner strength, and what is your sense of agency based on in this place?
- What are your blind spots in this place?
- In this place, you see the bigger picture of events and feel more like a “partnering with” rather than “fighting against” the stream of changes coming your way. From there, you can consider what opportunities this change creates for you.
- Feel the energy of this place and how it feels when you act from that energy…
- How familiar or unfamiliar is this place to you?
- What does it give you? And how does this place limit you?
- How is your inner strength, and what is your sense of agency based on in this place?
- What are your blind spots in this place?
- In this place, you feel that you can take an active role and jointly construct what the future will look like. It is not just about the external changes; it is also about your input and your sense of influence. You might not be able to avoid the external pressure to change, but you can co-develop the future shape of your practice.
- Feel the energy of this place and how it feels when you act from that energy…
- How familiar or unfamiliar is this place to you?
- What does it give you? And how does this place limit you?
- How is your inner strength, and what is your sense of agency based on in this place?
- What are your blind spots in this place?
- In this place, you believe that you are 100% the master of your fate and that the future depends solely on your actions. You are the creator of the future, regardless of what is happening around you and in the world.
- Feel the energy of this place and how it feels when you act from that energy…
- How familiar or unfamiliar is this place to you?
- What does it give you? And how does this place limit you?
- How is your inner strength, and what is your sense of agency based on in this place?
- What are your blind spots in this place?
Step 3. Debrief the experience
Suggested debriefing questions:
- How did you feel during the walk?
- Which place did feel the most familiar? Least familiar?
- Was there anything surprising to you? If yes, what?
- What did you learn about yourself?
- Concerning your exploration theme, what would be a better place to relate to?
- What could be your next step to embody that place (even) more?
After the exercise
The insights from the exercise might be shared with other team members to reflect on the joint approach to future changes or kept as a task for further personal development. This exercise might be combined with other tools from this toolbox, such as storytelling about the future, where the same story could be told from each of these positions.
Variation with teams
This exercise can also be done in a team setting. In that case, a team can explore the whole team’s current position concerning the changes that are affecting its work and/or organisational functioning.
This exercise could also be combined with “Four quadrants of future readiness” to broaden the scope of thinking about the future readiness, beyond the “Individual-Inner” quadrant addressed with this experience.