Imagination:
3-minute workout

Unlimited availability. Unlimited use. Completely free of charge. And we make so little use of it. The potential of our imagination often lies dormant.

Anesthetized by digital distractions, convenience or social constraints, we let the unimaginative daily grind run its (seemingly) alternative-free course. We greet the groundhog every day and reproduce 'more of the same'.

If we really want to fundamentally change something, we need fresh, bold ideas and concepts, a generous breadth of thought. We need the ability to even better solutions in a matter of seconds and in sharp detail. In short: a well-trained imagination muscle. And to make this easier for us, there is now a 5-step training course.

1. choose training location

Let's make training easy for ourselves and start at our personal ground zero. We choose a training location uninspired place of our choice. Loud, noisy, unappealing or simply yawningly dull. One of those places where you just want to get away quickly and would never voluntarily stay any longer. On top of that, such places are often characterized by what the artist Joseph Beuys called "social coldness". Not infrequently, these places have a lot to do with concrete, asphalt and traffic. People you meet here look tired and stressed.

2. the new provision

Many places could soon lose their actual function. If we start to travel a little less - through innovations such as the 30-hour week, working from home, teleconferencing, etc. - and pinch off the "over" from our overconsumption, new free spaces will emerge. Not only in terms of time, but also in terms of space: for example, in the form of parking, transportation or commercial space that is no longer needed.

In many places, we can therefore think about an "after" in the future. What will happen to parking lots and underground garages in cities when they become car-free? Or petrol stations? Not to mention refineries, airports or the world's major mega trading ports?

Now imagine what else your chosen training location could be. What would be really good for people and the environment here? What gap, what need could this place fill? What would bring a smile to children's faces or awaken their spirit of discovery? What could magnetically attract young and old? What would nature enjoy here?

3. more liveliness

As a society, we have lost much of our knowledge of vitality. Who can judge whether a piece of forest you stroll through is healthy? Let alone the ground you are standing on? Who knows what a truly species-rich meadow looks like? Or which fruits from shrubs and trees taste good to our birds?

But we don't have to be biology graduates to imagine a more living world. We leave the fine-tuning to the experts. We should just learn again to think of liveliness as a basic principle, always and everywhere.

How could your training location become a habitat again? Where could animals or plants feel at home here? What does it need? More trees? Green facades? A pond? The Green instead of Gray initiative is one source of inspiration.

4. take all your senses with you

So now we have a feeling of what the training location could fulfill in the future (e.g. social meeting place, marketplace, blooming oasis of calm,...whatever) and what makes it more 'alive'. Now let's go to this place with all our senses. Go through all the senses and think about what is still missing. Does the place already smell the way it could smell? Does it look the way you want it to? If you prick up your ears, what can you hear? Do you hear any noises? Are there enough birds chirping? Would it be nice if crickets were also chirping? Where would the flower meadow be that would fulfill this wish? How does the environment feel? What material do you see? Do you like to sit down here and linger? And what else do you need to imagine so that all your senses give you an OK?

5. the icing on the cake

If you think your place is already perfect, I assure you: there's more to it. With this last step, we want to really push our imagination to the maximum:

You'll be standing at the edge of your training location in five years. I stand next to you. We let our eyes glide over the action, taking in the colors, shapes and impressions. And then I'll ask you one last daring question: What if EVERYTHING were really possible?

Suppose you could ignore world politics, our laws, the usual social norms, the here and now. Isn't there perhaps an idea slumbering in your head that you hardly dare to imagine? One that you dismiss as impossible, utopian or crazy, but secretly find incredibly fascinating? Incorporate this idea, this final icing on the cake, into your imaginary training location.

Desirable side effects

Now, of course, it would be nice to observe the synapse fireworks that this workout has triggered in the brain. Fortunately, our hippothalamus can't get sore muscles. But hopefully it is a little exhausted. And possibly grown a little.

Always look for new training locations: whether industrial estates, train stations, deserted city centers, industrial ruins. There are hardly any places that could not be more beautiful, quieter, more lively, more inviting, etc. in the future.

The regular workout has neither risks nor side effects. And it is even more fun in a group (of course, this was also tested in a self-experiment). If practiced regularly, this experiment may have highly desirable social consequences.

Those who have visions...

We may even be able to replace old mantras of visionlessness, such as the eternally rehashed quote from the former German chancellor, "anyone with visions should see a doctor", with something more constructive and sustainable. For example by saying: "Visions are the stuff the future is made of". Or in the words of Rob Hopkins cast: