--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Many people are shrinking from the future…" description: "\"Many people are shrinking from the future and from participation in the movement toward a new, expanded reality. And, like homesick travelers abroad, t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd0/margaret-mead-982_anxiety_many-people-are-shrinking-from-the-futur_2184914.jpg" --- # Many people are shrinking from the future and from… ![“Many people are shrinking from the future and from participation in the movement toward a new, expanded reality. And, like homesick travelers abroad, they are focusing their anxieties on home. The reasons are not far to seek. We are at a turning point in human history. . . . We could turn our…” quote by Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd0/margaret-mead-982_anxiety_many-people-are-shrinking-from-the-futur_2184914.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd0/margaret-mead-982_anxiety_many-people-are-shrinking-from-the-futur_2184914.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd0/margaret-mead-982_anxiety_many-people-are-shrinking-from-the-futur_2184914.jpg) > “Many people are shrinking from the future and from participation in the movement toward a new, expanded reality. And, like homesick travelers abroad, they are focusing their anxieties on home. The reasons are not far to seek. We are at a turning point in human history. . . . We could turn our attention to the problems that going to the Moon certainly will not solve ... But I think this would be fatal to our future. . . . A society that no longer moves forward does not merely stagnate; it begins to die.” [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Societies that avoid confronting future challenges risk stagnation and decline, focusing on past anxieties instead of progress. **In simple terms:** Avoiding future problems leads to stagnation. Key Takeaway Embrace forward‑looking challenges. Themes progress stagnation future societal health Mood concerned urgent Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - policy making - education reform - community planning - personal development Key Concepts systems thinking historical cycles innovation Questions to Reflect On - What future challenge are you avoiding? - How can we balance honoring tradition with embracing change? A Different Perspective Focusing on the past can ignore urgent present needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anxiety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anxiety/) [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Future society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future-society/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Human history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-history/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moon/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Moving forward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving-forward/) [Our future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-future/) [Participation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/participation/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Predictions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/predictions/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Traveler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traveler/) [Turning point](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turning-point/) [Turning points](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turning-points/) ## Related quotes > [“Your past cannot stop you from a bright future, but an improper interpretation of your past can be fatal to your future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orrin-woodward/your-past-cannot-stop-you-from-a-bright-future-but-an-improper/) [Orrin Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orrin-woodward/) > [Well of course there's been a great deal of progress over the last 40 years. 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That is the law of life, individual and social.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/today-is-the-parent-of-tomorrow-the-present-casts-its-shadow-far-into/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [If future society assumes the contours foretold by Marxism, if the jungle of our cities turns to the polis of man and the dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/if-future-society-assumes-the-contours-foretold-by-marxism-if-the/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) > [If manufacturers are so sure there is nothing wrong with genetically modified foods, pesticides and cloned meats, they should have no problems labeling them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gollner/if-manufacturers-are-so-sure-there-is-nothing-wrong-with-genetically/) [Adam Gollner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gollner/) > [ I have nothing from my childhood. I think you carry those books with you. It's like in \[Ray\] Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451." Books are outlawed… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/i-have-nothing-from-my-childhood-i-think-you-carry-those-books-with/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“The future of our society today lies in the legacy we leave behind for our children.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdulazeez-henry-musa/the-future-of-our-society-today-lies-in-the-legacy-we-leave-behind/) [Abdulazeez Henry Musa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdulazeez-henry-musa/) > [A commonplace of political rhetoric has it that the quality of a civilization may be measured by how it cares for its elderly. Just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-patrick-moynihan/a-commonplace-of-political-rhetoric-has-it-that-the-quality-of-a/) [Daniel Patrick Moynihan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-patrick-moynihan/) > [At one time in the mid-'70s I became the president of the Boston-Cambridge chapter of the World Future Society. Because I'd been in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/at-one-time-in-the-mid-70s-i-became-the-president-of-the-boston/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [“Our current society is designed to achieve growth of industrial output and redistributing its spoils. Future society must expand upon today’s society’s way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanzi-freinacht/our-current-society-is-designed-to-achieve-growth-of-industrial/) [Hanzi Freinacht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanzi-freinacht/) > [The most remarkable discovery made by scientists is science itself. The discovery must be compared in importance with the invention of cave-painting and of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/the-most-remarkable-discovery-made-by-scientists-is-science-itself/) [Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/) > [“The future of a society was not determined by the traits its members shared but rested entirely on their differences”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/the-future-of-a-society-was-not-determined-by-the-traits-its-members/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) ## More by Margaret Mead > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [The contempt for law and the contempt for the human consequences of lawbreaking go from the bottom to the top of American society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-contempt-for-law-and-the-contempt-for-the-human-consequences-of/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [If one cannot state a matter clearly enough so that even an intelligent twelve-year-old can understand it, one should remain within the cloistered walls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/if-one-cannot-state-a-matter-clearly-enough-so-that-even-an/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [I learned the value of hard work by working hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/i-learned-the-value-of-hard-work-by-working-hard/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/children-must-be-taught-how-to-think-not-what-to-think/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Women are scolded both for being mothers and for not being mothers, for wanting to eat their cake and have it too, and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/women-are-scolded-both-for-being-mothers-and-for-not-being-mothers/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [we came to realize that a civilization which rode roughshod over the way of life of other peoples was incorporating evil in its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-came-to-realize-that-a-civilization-which-rode-roughshod-over-the/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [WE MUST DEVISE A SYSTEM IN WHICH PEACE IS MORE REWARDING THAN WAR.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-must-devise-a-system-in-which-peace-is-more-rewarding-than-war/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Through a grandmother's voice and hands the end of life is known at the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/through-a-grandmother-s-voice-and-hands-the-end-of-life-is-known-at/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [today's children are the first generation to grow up in a world that has the power to destroy itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/today-s-children-are-the-first-generation-to-grow-up-in-a-world-that/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [We are now at a point where we must educate our children in what no one knew yesterday, and prepare our schools for what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-are-now-at-a-point-where-we-must-educate-our-children-in-what-no/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Humanity . . . lies in man's capacity to question the known and imagine the unknown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/humanity-lies-in-man-s-capacity-to-question-the-known-and-imagine-the/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Fathers are biological necessities, but social accidents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/fathers-are-biological-necessities-but-social-accidents/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“One of the most dangerous things that can happen to a child is to kill or torture an animal and not be held responsible.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/one-of-the-most-dangerous-things-that-can-happen-to-a-child-is-to/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [We end up with the contradictory picture of a society that appears to throw its doors wide open to women, but translates her every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-end-up-with-the-contradictory-picture-of-a-society-that-appears-to/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) [Explore all 314 Margaret Mead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) ## More Anxiety quotes > [“Anything that you find yourself worrying about regularly may find you suddenly wanting unrealistic changes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nagisa-tatsumi/anything-that-you-find-yourself-worrying-about-regularly-may-find-you/) Nagisa Tatsumi > [Bein Crazy is the least of my worries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/bein-crazy-is-the-least-of-my-worries/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [The answer to deep anxiety is the deep adoration of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/the-answer-to-deep-anxiety-is-the-deep-adoration-of-god/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [“Fear of seeing a police car pull into the drive. Fear of falling asleep at night. Fear of not falling asleep. Fear of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/fear-of-seeing-a-police-car-pull-into-the-drive-fear-of-falling/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [I get nervous when I don't get nervous. If I'm nervous I know I'm going to have a good show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beyonce-knowles/i-get-nervous-when-i-don-t-get-nervous-if-i-m-nervous-i-know-i-m/) [Beyonce Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beyonce-knowles/) > [“Every invention comes through anxiousness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rakesh-wadhwani/every-invention-comes-through-anxiousness/) [Rakesh Wadhwani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rakesh-wadhwani/) > [“Do Not Be Anxious 25 e “Therefore I tell you,  f do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-not-be-anxious-25-e-therefore-i-tell-you-f-do-not-be-anxious-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Nothing happens on its own, you have to make things happen. 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