What will be done?
Perhaps there was a time when none of our actions could have been determined by choices—at least not our own choices. As infants, for example, do we decide to cry when we're hungry? Probably not. But there comes a time when we realize that, given what we did, we could have done otherwise. This likely comes as our parents teach us that we should have done something other than what we did, strongly implying that we at one time had control over our own actions. Once we begin to see this, however, we might begin to anticipate outcomes and so look back onto our present situation as if from the future. Which path will bring the wrath of my parents, and which will not? We begin to care about which outcomes/goals best guide our current actions.
At some point we might realize that there's something disturbing about this, especially when possible outcomes seem equally acceptable and equally desirable. The disturbing thing is that, once we commit ourselves to one course of action, we negate all other possible actions and so all other possible outcomes. We can't have it all. Our commitments limit us, but without making them, we'll never set up the concrete conditions in which we might make something of ourselves.
How then do we decide what to do, both personally and collectively? This is a question of immense weight, as it carries with it the responsibility of choosing one path at the expense of all other possible paths. It's to make the other paths impossible. But, again, addressing this question will require great foresight. What will continue to be done, and what will continue to occur, if things stay the course? How would different commitments change the outcomes? What will I/ will we become? And so on.
So, what specific goals do we have? ...for five years out, 10 years, 30 years, and so on? What tasks have we given or can we give ourselves in order to accomplish those goals? How do we keep ourselves on track such that we finish those tasks? How will our attitudes need to change, and what will help us change them? What kind of resolve are we showing? And, to bring it home: what kind of world do we want to build for our children and grandchildren?
