The future is volatile, dynamic and unpredictable. It is not really posible to fully plan or concretely prepare for anything. How could you possibly know what’s coming? You might lose the security of your job and become obsolete very quickly; particularly for those that spent many years performing in the same environment and for whom value is mostly contextual to that environment. Your family situation could also unexpectedly change, you could get a divorce, disease, or someone close to you passes away or you just run out of luck and change is forced upon you.
One superpower to deal with this is being or becoming more adaptable; the ability to not only survive but quickly understand where the bullets are coming from and start adding value from the go through adjusting and changing. Some people were forced to develop this skill early on through past life circumstances, but for many this has not been developed at all.
I believe “adaptability” could be trained as a muscle through exposing yourself to zones of discomfort, where you are not in control, or you even feel like a rookie. You could do it in different ways. You could avoid staying in the same company or role for too long (the canary in the mine is when you are cozy and comfortable). You could learn how to paint, cook, ski, sail, play an instrument or any other unfamiliar activity. Travelling and working in different places and cultures is also useful as you need to figure out how everything works back again. Feeling and experiencing the rookie(ness) grounds you and prepares you for trial and error, doing and learning.
Mario Andretti’s words resonate: “if everything seems under control, you are not going fast enough.” To me, danger lurks in comfort—a dormant crisis anticipating its moment. Embracing discomfort, venturing beyond familiarity, embracing novelty, and mastering new abilities foster evolution, adaptation, and a fortified readiness to embrace what lies ahead.