The World Economic Forum (WEF) recently communicated the importance of resilience in the face of a fractured future: “A world fractured between skilled workers and others, as technological progress and disruption create gaps in the labour market and call the established order into question; and between economic growth and environmental imbalances.” 

It would be easy to lose hope or simply give up during the Fourth Industrial Revolution, but how can we find our way through this discomfort and come out even better on the other side?

Be positive, and look at the science.

Acclaimed cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker presented “Be Positive: The World Is Not Falling Apart'” at Davos 2018, just after the fractured future theme was announced. In his new book, Enlightenment Now: The Case For Reason, Science, Humanism and Progress, Pinker encourages pushing back against cognitive bias. This means avoiding complacent optimism in exchange for conditional optimism, which ties in well with negativity bias (only taking seriously people who are continually critical).

With a negativity bias, the loudest or most critical speaker gets the most exposure in the media, creating the effect of a negative reality when the world is progressing at an exponential rate of improvement and change. Switching off from the negative and instead seeking answers from science and reason is an important mental workout to prepare yourself for the new industrial revolution.

Adapt, grow, reskill and build.

Reskilling is going to be part of what keeps individuals both competitive and fulfilled. A recent WEF whitepaper, “Towards a Reskilling Revolution,” notes that the types of skills needed in the market are going to change rapidly, and if workers want to keep up, they’re going to have to become lifelong learners.