The most powerful technology for reshaping your future isn't AI, blockchain, or quantum computing.
It's something far more subtle: glimmers.
While the world obsesses over digital transformation and exponential technologies, neuroscience has quietly revealed something extraordinary about how we actually change, grow, and become better versions of ourselves. It happens not through grand gestures or revolutionary breakthroughs, but through micro-moments that rewire our neural pathways one glimmer at a time.
Everyone talks about triggers—those moments that hijack your nervous system, flooding you with stress chemicals from past experiences. In our hyperconnected world, they're unavoidable. Every notification, every news alert, every unexpected meeting can activate our amygdala and dump cortisol into our system.
But here's what most people miss: for every trigger that can destabilize us, our brains are equally capable of experiencing glimmers—micro-moments that activate our parasympathetic nervous system and flood us with healing neurochemicals.
The neuroscience is compelling. While triggers activate our fight-or-flight center, glimmers do the opposite. They stimulate our vagus nerve, releasing oxytocin, serotonin, and GABA. Unlike fleeting pleasures, glimmers create lasting positive neural pathways. They're your nervous system's way of building emotional armor against future stress.
This isn't just feel-good psychology. It's neuroplastic intervention.
From my off-grid cabin, I've been conducting an inadvertent experiment in glimmer recognition. Three moments consistently reset my entire nervous system:
The boat arrival: Stepping off the boat at Great Mackerel Beach, scanning across to Barrenjoey Headland. Something about the transition from engine noise to natural silence creates an instant physiological shift.
The collective energy: The atmosphere at a Stockholm soccer derby, connecting me to childhood wonder. There's something about shared joy that bypasses our individual stress patterns entirely.
The sunrise ritual: That first sip of coffee overlooking Pittwater and the Pacific Ocean as dawn breaks. Not just any coffee—that coffee, in that moment, with that view.
What makes these different from general "good vibes"? They're neurologically specific and reliably reproducible. I can intentionally seek them out, and they consistently deliver the same positive neurochemical response.
Here's where this gets interesting for anyone building the future—whether you're designing products, leading teams, or simply architecting your own life: If we can engineer digital experiences that trigger specific brain chemistry, we can absolutely design everything else to reliably generate glimmers.
Think about the most successful experience designers of our time:
The pattern isn't accidental. These companies have discovered something profound: the future belongs to those who can systematically create micro-moments of joy.
Traditional self-improvement focuses on eliminating negatives—reducing stress, avoiding triggers, breaking bad habits. But what if the real leverage point is different? What if becoming a better future version of yourself is less about subtracting problems and more about intentionally adding glimmers?
This shifts everything:
Instead of asking: "How do I avoid burnout?"
We ask: "What micro-moments of restoration can I build into each day?"
Instead of: "How do I reduce customer complaints?"
We ask: "What unexpected moments of delight can we create?"
Instead of: "How do I manage my triggers?"
We ask: "How do I multiply my glimmers?"
I'm increasingly convinced we're at the beginning of a significant shift. We've spent decades building trauma-informed approaches to healthcare, education, and workplace design. That's important work that needs to continue.
But what if we simultaneously started building glimmer-informed everything?
What would happen if architects designed spaces specifically to generate positive neurochemical responses? If educators structured learning around micro-moments of wonder? If leaders systematically created conditions for collective joy?
The research suggests these aren't just nice-to-haves. They're strategic interventions that literally reshape our brain's default patterns toward resilience, creativity, and connection.
This brings me to a practical challenge for you: What are your personal glimmers, and how intentionally are you cultivating them?
Most people can easily identify their triggers but struggle to name their glimmers. This is like knowing exactly which foods make you sick while being completely unconscious about which ones make you thrive.
Start simple:
Once you identify them, the question becomes: How can you increase their frequency and reliability?
Here's what I've learned from my lighthouse perch: The future isn't built through dramatic transformations. It's built through the compound effect of micro-moments that gradually reshape who we become.
Every glimmer is a small investment in your future self. Every intentionally created moment of joy is a neural pathway that makes resilience more likely, creativity more accessible, and connection more natural.
The organizations, communities, and individuals who understand this will have a profound advantage in the decades ahead. They'll be building the emotional and neurological infrastructure for sustained well-being while others are still just trying to manage the damage.
What's glimmering on my radar:
Your turn: What three micro-moments consistently reset your nervous system in a positive direction? Hit reply and share—I'm genuinely curious about the glimmer patterns that emerge across different people and cultures.
Decoding Tomorrow explores the signals shaping our future. Each week, we separate lasting trends from temporary hype, helping you navigate change with clarity and confidence.
The future isn't just about new technologies—it's about new ways of being human.
Anders Sörman-Nilsson
Futurist | Keynote Speaker | Brand Strategist
PS. Super excited to keynote at CoreNet Global's Conference on October 28 in Anaheim, California. If you are hosting a conference in the Americas around that time - email me to enquire about availability.
WE WILL EQUIP YOU WITH THE VIDEOS AND MATERIALS YOU NEED TO SUCCESSFULLY PITCH ASN.
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