A world-renowned future forecaster and game designer teaches us to envision the future before it arrives—and gives us the tools to help shape the world we want to live in.
The COVID-19 pandemic, one of the most disruptive events in human history, has made it more challenging than ever to feel prepared, hopeful, and equipped to face the future with optimism. How do we map out our lives when it feels impossible to predict what the world will be like next week, let alone next year or next decade? What we need now are strategies to help us recover our confidence and creativity in facing uncertain futures.
In Imaginable, Jane McGonigal draws on the latest scientific research in psychology and neuroscience to show us how to train our minds to think the unthinkable and imagine the unimaginable. She invites us to play with the provocative thought experiments and future simulations she’s designed exclusively for this book, with the goal to:
• build our collective imagination so that we can dive into the future and envision, in surprising detail, what our lives will look like ten years from now
• develop the courage and vision to solve problems creatively
• take actions and make decisions that will help shape the future we desire
• access “urgent optimism,” an unstoppable force within each of us that activates our sense of agency
Imaginable teaches us to be fearless, resilient, and bold in realizing a world with possibilities we cannot yet imagine—until reading this transformative, inspiring, and necessary book.
Photo by Christopher Michel
𝗝𝗔𝗡𝗘 𝗠𝗰𝗚𝗢𝗡I𝗚𝗔𝗟, PhD, is a future forecaster and designer of games created to improve real lives and solve real problems. She is the author of two New York Times bestselling books, Reality Is Broken and SuperBetter, and her TED talks on how gaming can make a better world have more than 15 million views. She was named a “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum; one of Fast Company’s “Top 100 Creative People in Business”; and one of the “Top 35 innovators changing the world through technology” by MIT Technology Review. She is the Director of Games Research & Development at the Institute for the Future, a non-profit research group in Palo Alto, California.
“Reading this book is like sitting down with a creative, optimistic friend—and getting up as a new version of yourself. Jane McGonigal has long been a visionary. Now she teaches the rest of us how to be one too.”
—Daniel H. Pink, New York Times bestselling author of When and To Sell Is Human
“Imaginable is more than a book, it’s a mindset upgrade. It teaches you to think more creatively and optimistically about what’s next. You’ll be excited about the future rather than fearful of it. Your brain will be on fire with new possibilities. And you’ll never call anything ‘unimaginable’ or ‘unthinkable’ again.”
—Peter H. Diamandis, MD, New York Times bestselling author of The Future Is Faster Than You Think
“A unique and insightful look at how games and simulations can not only teach us about the past but give us a window into our future. Jane McGonigal's work provides us with a whole new set of tools to make important decisions better, faster, and more transparently.”
—Sid Meier, creator of Civilization
“Everyone should be imagining the future as a basic survival skill. This book is for everyone and is the only book I know of that will teach you the proven techniques that futurists use to forecast the future. It includes all the methods I use, and more. Do yourself a favor: Read this book.”
—Kevin Kelly, New York Times bestselling author of The Inevitable and Senior Maverick for Wired
“Jane McGonigal is unusually adept at anticipating events that most of us can’t even fathom. In this eye-opening, actionable book, she teaches you how to widen your peripheral vision, extend your imagination farther into the future, and conceive of the inconceivable.”
—Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author Think Again and host of the TED podcast WorkLife
“With Imaginable, Jane McGonigal has pulled off a rare and essential feat: she’s written a book filled with inspiring ideas about how the future might play out that also provides immediate, practical tools to help you think more creatively about how you can change that future yourself.”
—Steven Johnson, New York Times bestselling author of Where Good Ideas Come From and Farsighted
“In challenging times, it can be tempting to put our heads in the sand. In Imaginable, futurist Jane McGonigal offers us her outstretched hand. McGonigal plows years of research and simulation into an actionable guide that proves that we are vastly more capable of building desirable solutions than we realize. Fueled by her conversational tone of ‘urgent optimism,’ McGonigal’s questions and challenges are a galvanizing, must-read road map to a sustainable, desired future for all who can imagine.”
—Julie Lythcott-Haims, New York Times bestselling author of How to Raise an Adult
“Imaginable is a delightful and actionable antidote to apocalypse: an invitation to play with the future as if it were limited by nothing but our own imaginative capacity. An inspiring read.”
—Douglas Rushkoff, author of Present Shock and Team Human
“Imaginable is one of those rare and thrilling books that actually changes you. It translates scientific insights into psychological breakthroughs, giving you a new set of tools to feel more hopeful, more creative, more awake to your dreams for the future. It empowers you with what McGonigal calls a sense of ‘urgent optimism.’ It will help you transcend the present moment to realize your full potential and make a future that’s better for all.”
—Scott Barry Kaufman, psychologist and author of Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization and Wired to Create
“In Imaginable, Jane McGonigal teaches us to bring soul-stirring imagination to our daily lives. As she persuasively demonstrates, imagination training is more than just a skill set: it’s a creativity boost, a mindset shift, and an emotional uplift all rolled up in one. The life-changing techniques you’ll learn in this science-packed book will help you choose your future and feel more in control of what happens next.”
—Nir Eyal, author of Hooked and Indistractable