I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the way we relate to the future. In my work as a futurist, I have spent close to a decade helping global decision-makers gain clarity and prepare for the future(s). And I see the same thing happening in almost every client interaction I have: People make strategic plans, set ambitious goals, and try to anticipate what’s coming next. But when they finally "get there," the future has shifted yet again. Collectively, we always seem to be chasing tomorrow — but it never quite arrives.

Many people imagine the future as a big leap — an extraordinary disruption that will shift everything overnight. This mindset is reinforced by the stories we tell ourselves, the media we consume and corporate cultures that glorify immediate, sweeping change. The truth is more nuanced. The future rarely arrives all at once. It usually reveals itself in small, incremental and disconnected steps—moments that we often overlook because we’re waiting for something bigger. 

As William Gibson famously said, “The future is already here — it’s just not evenly distributed.” Part of that unevenness lies in the fact that different layers of change unfold at varying speeds. Some things change fast, while others move slowly. Fashion, for example, changes rapidly — its cycles are measured in months or even weeks. Meanwhile, infrastructure and governance systems move at a slower pace, taking years, decades or even longer to shift. And climate change aside, nature evolves over millennia, almost imperceptibly to us. This dynamic interplay of fast and slow forces shapes our world, complicating our ability to perceive our relationship with the future.

Our perception of time is influenced by our societal and cultural backgrounds. In much of the Western world, time is seen as linear, measurable and compartmentalized — a resource to be managed. This "monochronic" perspective emphasizes deadlines, schedules and efficiency, with the future framed as a series of goals to be achieved in a predictable sequence. By contrast, in a "polychronic" mindset, time is more fluid and relational, with an emphasis on flexibility and context. In this more useful view of the world, the future is less about strict timelines and more about how events interweave, shaped by relationships and multiple influences happening simultaneously.

With globalization, the Western, monochronic view of time has become particularly dominant in business culture. Here, time is a commodity to be optimized, and the future becomes something to be controlled through precise planning and immediate results. Technological advancements and consumer trends provide the fast, tangible changes we crave, reinforcing a culture that values efficiency and productivity.

This mindset comes at a cost: It blinds us to the slower, more subtle forces — like shifts in cultural values, environmental changes and evolving social norms — that, while less visible, are often far more transformative over time. In our drive for immediate results, we often miss those small, incremental steps that slowly shape the future over decades.

As a result, we fall into traps — patterns of behaviour and thought that simplify our understanding of time and prevent us from seeing the future as a series of interconnected, ongoing processes. Subtle and pervasive, this fixation on the linear present keeps us grounded in the pursuit of immediate gains, stunting our ability to engage with the slower, deeper layers of change that truly shape the future.

By learning to recognize and identify these traps, we can develop structures and mechanisms that pull us out of this short-term blindness, helping us to see beyond the immediate. With the right strategies, we can create the conditions that allow us to make the future happen more often — embracing the complexity and nuance that long-term thinking requires. Following are three of the most common traps I see in my work

Trap one: present bias

It is our human tendency to prioritize immediate rewards over long-term outcomes, even when those quick wins might conflict with bigger goals. We chase the now — driven by the satisfaction of ticking a box, the visible results that make us feel like we’re progressing.

Modern culture glorifies the present. The faster, the better. Success is measured by what’s tangible and measurable. We’re addicted to speed, to productivity hacks, to anything that shows immediate impact. And why not? The present is all around us—it’s right there, easy to grasp. The future? It’s abstract, distant, harder to approach. So, we push it aside, convincing ourselves we’ll deal with it later, and make decisions that feel good now.

This short-termism feeds our present bias. Businesses and leaders are under constant pressure to deliver quick results, and in doing so, narrow their field of vision. The result: they fail to invest in long-term strategies, delay sustainable actions, and lose sight of the bigger picture.

How did we get here? It’s easy to point to the fast pace of technology, quarterly reports or even the dopamine hit of instant results. But the issue runs deeper. Our entire culture has conditioned us to prioritize the present. It’s a mindset reinforced by everything from financial markets to how we manage our daily tasks.

How to escape: Escaping this mindset is not easy, but it begins with awareness. We need to recognize that just because something feels urgent doesn’t mean that it’s important. We have to consciously rewire our thinking to value the long term — investing in things that don’t show immediate results, but will pay off in the future.

One way to do this is by practicing delayed gratification — both personally and within organizations. This means resisting the urge to celebrate quick wins and instead appreciating slow, steady progress that builds over time. It’s about fostering a culture that values patience and long-term growth, not just short-term victories. We also need future-oriented metrics — progress indicators that speak to long-term success, such as customer retention, environmental impact, and innovation pipelines.

Breaking free from present bias isn’t about abandoning short-term wins — it’s about broadening our perspective. The future is built slowly by every choice we make today. By recognizing this, we can start making decisions that truly shape the future for the better.

Trap two: linear thinking

Linear thinking is pervasive in modern culture. We love projections, forecasts and roadmaps. They give us a sense of control and clarity in an otherwise uncertain world. But with this mindset comes the belief that the future will unfold in a predictable, straight line from the present. It’s the assumption that today’s trends, decisions, and patterns will simply continue, leading us to a future that looks like an extension of today—just bigger, faster, or more advanced. The problem is, the world doesn’t work that way. The future is messy, full of disruption, surprises and twists that we cannot always anticipate.

How did this mindset develop? Part of it is human nature. We like patterns and crave predictability. It’s comforting to think we can map out the future like we plan a route on a GPS, avoiding traffic jams in real time. But it's also a product of our education systems and cultures, which encourage us to look for straight-line progress. We’re taught to plan, predict and optimize, often ignoring the non-linear forces — like sudden technological breakthroughs, societal upheavals or natural disasters — that can change everything in an instant.

The danger of linear thinking is that it can make us complacent. We focus on optimizing the status quo, missing the signals of disruption and transformation happening around us. By assuming that the future will be "more of the same," we not only fail to prepare for the unexpected but also miss critical opportunities for innovation and adaptation. It’s a mindset that leads us to be reactive rather than proactive.

How to escape: First, we need to embrace complexity and recognize that the future will not be a straight path — it will be more like a web of interconnected forces, constantly shifting and influencing each other. In complex systems, small shifts can have outsized impacts, creating outcomes that no forecast or roadmap can fully anticipate. Instead of rigid forecasts, we should develop multiple scenarios, exploring different possibilities and preparing for a range of outcomes.

Next, we need to get comfortable with uncertainty. It’s okay to not have all the answers, and it’s essential to build flexibility into our plans. This can involve experimenting with new ideas, testing assumptions, and being ready to pivot when the unexpected happens. After all, it is only in the face of uncertainty that we can influence the output.

To break away from linearity, we must learn to look beyond the obvious and seek out weak signals — those small, often unnoticed shifts that may point to larger changes on the horizon. By broadening our perspective and questioning assumptions, we can prepare for a world far more complex and unpredictable than we imagine — and far more rewarding for those able to anticipate it.

Trap three: siloed thinking

This common phenomenon happens when departments or individuals operate in isolation, focusing solely on their own priorities without considering the broader context. It entails working within strict boundaries — where information, strategies and visions remain separate from other areas. Different parts of an organization become disconnected, pursuing isolated goals and strategies that don't align with the overarching mission. Though this approach might seem efficient, it often leads to misalignment, duplicated efforts and missed opportunities.

In modern business culture, silos are pervasive. Each department has its own targets, performance metrics and even its own language. Marketing focuses on branding, sales on hitting numbers and R&D on innovation — each functioning as if they exist in isolation. The problem is that organizations, like the future, don’t work that way. Success is rarely achieved through the efforts of one department alone; it depends on collaboration and synergy between all parts of the organization. Silos create blind spots, where different areas fail to see how their work impacts, or is impacted by, others.

What led us here? It’s partly a result of organizational structures — departments are often set up to function independently, and performance reviews reward individual achievements over collective progress. It’s also due to the complexity of modern work,

where specialization is valued. As teams focus on their specific roles, they can easily lose sight of the bigger picture, focusing narrowly on their immediate goals.

The danger of siloed thinking is that it inhibits collaboration and prevents organizations from anticipating future challenges. Each department becomes so absorbed in its own work that it fails to adapt to shifts happening across the organization or industry.

Companies end up making decisions based on partial information, missing out on innovation and growth opportunities that arise from cross-functional collaboration. This issue has been exacerbated by the rise of remote work, where physical separation often reinforces departmental isolation, making collaboration even more difficult.

How to escape: To break free from siloed thinking, organizations need to foster a culture of collaboration. This means encouraging open communication and cross-departmental teamwork. Leaders must ensure that information flows freely across the organization, creating opportunities for teams to share insights and align their efforts. By breaking down silos, companies can build a more integrated, agile approach to strategy—one that fosters innovation and ensures long-term success.

As we grapple with navigating an uncertain future as individuals and organizations, these are just three of the mindset traps to be aware of. The good news is that by recognizing and addressing them head-on, we can shift our mindset, embrace long-term thinking and learn to proactively shape the future, rather than simply reacting to it as it unfolds.