Hal Hershfield is a psychologist who studies the emotional connection we have to our “future selves.” He talks with Maya about tactics we can use to strengthen this connection, and why it matters.
Understanding the "Collection of Selves"
- Neuroscientific studies indicate that the brain activity observed when thinking about one's future self is more akin to the brain activity associated with thinking about others. This suggests that, on a neural level, your future self is perceived as a distinct individual.
- From a psychological standpoint, we do not inherently view ourselves as a single, unchanging entity over time. Instead, the concept of identity over time is better captured by understanding that we are a collection of separate selves, including a current version and future versions existing years down the line.
- A potential downside to perceiving the future self as a distinct entity is a reduction in empathy towards that future self. This diminished empathy is reflected in studies where people express less happiness for future rewards, suggesting future emotions feel more muted. Psychologically, people may also instinctively describe their future self's actions using a third-person perspective ("he is eating") rather than the first-person ("I am eating"), further highlighting this mental distancing.
- This lack of empathy for the future self might be partly attributed to present bias, a tendency to overvalue immediate gratification and undervalue future outcomes, which historically made sense when life expectancy was shorter.
Benefits of Strengthening Connection with Your Future Self
- Improved Financial Habits: Individuals more connected to their future selves are more likely to save money over time and experience greater financial well-being.
- Healthier Lifestyles: A strong connection encourages more consistent exercise.
- Ethical Decision-Making: People who feel more connected to their future selves are more likely to make ethical decisions, even when presented with opportunities to act unethically for immediate gain. Conversely, a lower degree of connection can lead to opting for unethical strategies.
- Increased Sense of Meaning: A greater sense of connection with one's future self is associated with feeling more meaning in life.
- Greater Patience: Connected individuals tend to exhibit more patient behaviour in laboratory tasks.
Challenges and Pitfalls to Consider
- Unpredictable Change: Your future self will inevitably change in unexpected ways, making it challenging to make decisions for them based solely on current preferences, values, and beliefs. While core values can guide planning, it's crucial to acknowledge that preferences may evolve.
- Hyperopia (Future Over-Focus): An excessive focus on the future can ironically harm your future self by causing you to miss out on present experiences and opportunities. This can lead to a lack of current memories or resources that the future self might have enjoyed (e.g., saving a gift certificate until it expires or hoarding items for a "perfect occasion").
- Anxiety About the Future: Fear and negativity regarding future challenges, such as AI's impact on jobs, climate change, or inflation, can make it difficult to even contemplate or care for a future self.
Strategies to Strengthen Your Connection with Your Future Self
- Cultivate Present-Day Self-Empathy: Before effectively caring for your future self, it's essential to first practice self-compassion and empathy for your present self. This foundational self-care ensures you're in a position to help your future self.
- Make Your Future Self More Vivid and Emotional:
- Age Progression Technology: Utilise tools that show you what you might look like in the future. Studies have shown that exposure to age-progressed images can motivate people to make contributions to retirement accounts.
- Conversational Exercises: Engage in discussions or thought experiments about your future self.
- Letter Writing: Write a letter to your future self, and then write a letter *from* your future self. This exercise helps make the future self more tangible and vivid.
- Look Backwards to Understand Interconnectedness: Reflect on how your present self is the future version of your past self. Recognise that decisions made by your past self have shaped who you are today, highlighting the continuous thread of connection and the impact of current actions on your future self.
- Implement Commitment Devices: These strategies act as "guardrails" to help ensure your present self's intentions are followed through by your future self. They involve making a commitment now that limits future options, preventing you from making impulsive decisions that contradict your long-term goals (e.g., using a timed safe to lock away distractions).
Embracing Balance and Agency
- Strive for Harmony: Aim for a balanced approach that supports both your present and future selves, creating "harmony" between them. This means living in a way that allows the present self to create memories while also ensuring the future self has sufficient resources for their well-being.
- Recognise Your Agency: Despite the inherent uncertainty and potential anxieties about the future, remember that you still have agency over it. By considering how small decisions today can evolve into significant future outcomes, you can actively "fertilise or pull out" the seeds of your future, even in the face of daunting challenges.
Potential Broader Empathy Spillover
- There is an intriguing open question as to whether increasing empathy for one's own future self might also lead to an increased empathy for other older people, and vice versa. The unique aspect here is that one will eventually become their future, older self, unlike other groups with whom one might empathise but not belong to.