Building Emotional Bonds With Your Future Self
We, humans, have the tendency to temporarily discount the rewards of the future, and hence act merely to the present or an immediate reward. This is one of the reasons why we discount the reward of the safety of our lives and fail to wear a helmet or why we do not adhere to religious saving/ investing discipline for a comfortable lifestyle in the future.
Without deliberately intending, we adhere to such self-detrimental behaviours owing to our inability to orient our ‘self’ in a projected future.
It is amazing, this trait in humans, to be able to mentally visualize a scene forward in time, with reference to the past and present. But how do we make efficient use of this ability to aid with decision making that is more beneficial than detrimental to our future selves?
Prevalent learning in behavioural sciences is that our decisions are dominantly impelled by the affective brain rather than the cognitive. We are more emotional beings than rational. It is these emotionally propelled reactions that drive our behaviours. One of the key determinants of our emotionally driven behaviours to a certain foreseeable future is the vividness with which we can imagine the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of it. Our behaviours toward the future is a function of the vividness of our imagination of that future. The closer the future event, the more vivid will be out imagination and vice versa.
As applicative practitioners, one approach to producing such powerful mental imagery could be by creating a visceral connection of the present, with the future self. By way of creating availability of the future in the present, ‘time to come’ is brought closer.
A similar concept was explored at participatory research conducted by the Extrapolation Factory. Fictional future products like ‘DIY Create Your Own Lifeform’ kit, non-existent robot replacement component, etc. were sold along with present-day products, at a 99c shop. It was observed that people did ‘invest’ in that possible future, sighting reasons for thrill, absurdity, and personal attachment. It can thus be inferred that a present artefact, reminiscent of a future, not only brings the timeline closer, it also builds relevance for the ‘self’ to act upon it ‘in the now’.
While we hold the benevolent ability to empathize with others and see from their shoes, it is high time we do the same with our own selves, see from the shoes of our future selves.
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com on May 29, 2017.
