Question

What does it mean to be future oriented? Do you view yourself as a future oriented person? If so, please describe how, and, if not, describe ways you can become more future oriented. Is it better to be future oriented or present oriented? Explain your answer.

Answer 1

To be future-oriented means to have the ability to foresee the future and anticipate certain activities in the future that could be taken in control, mitigated or sought the advantage of, if studied carefully and proactively involved in the acting upon the same. I certainly see myself as a future-oriented person because I just do not live for the present. I do take calculated risks for the risks may reward me in future. For the calculation, I examine the future trends and accordingly take an informed decision. When it comes to risk, it not just mean in terms of monetary investment purposes, but also investments in relationships, time and other important personal activities as well. Besides, it helps me deal with the changes with given period of time. Such changes, when anticipated at present, makes me prepare my plan of action to deal with the same. I am generally a proactive person and not reactive in nature. Only for the changes that I cannot anticipate at present, my actions could be rebounding. I further collect my self-representations on the basis of the past trends or upon my experiences and thereby prepare a self-concept for my future. I intend always to see myself in a certain place in future and accordingly set my milestones that are to be achieved by me gradually over a given period of time.

I feel one needs to primarily be present-oriented because if one is unable to survive in present, being future oriented shall not make much sense to that individual. However, today’s present is the reflection of what activities we resorted to in the past. Therefore, if I would have been proactive and future-oriented in my previous days, my present would be better and more anticipated in nature.