Description
Humans possess a remarkable ability that makes civilization possible: the power to think about the future. From designing buildings that will stand for centuries to creating cultures that last for generations, our capacity to plan ahead is what sets us apart. Yet, we are constantly faced with a simple but profound dilemma: do what is easy and feels good today, or do what is better for tomorrow. All too often, we choose the present moment, making short-sighted decisions in our personal lives and as a society. This tendency isn’t a fixed human flaw we are doomed to repeat; it is a habit that can be changed. We live in a reckless age, not because we are inherently reckless, but because the stakes for our future have never been higher. With tools that allow us to foresee the consequences of our actions, we have an unprecedented opportunity to learn how to make wiser judgments.
One of the biggest hurdles to long-term thinking is the allure of immediate gratification. We know we should save money for retirement, but the temptation of a new purchase today is powerful. This struggle was famously studied in the “marshmallow test,” where children were offered one treat now or two if they could wait. The results suggested that the ability to delay gratification was an innate skill. However, further studies showed something different. When the test was conducted in other cultures, like in a farming community in Cameroon, children waited for the bigger reward at much higher rates. This suggests that our ability to resist temptation is not just a personal trait, but is heavily influenced by our culture, our values, and the expectations we are raised with. We can create the right conditions and customs in our lives and communities that make it easier to think ahead and prioritize the future.
To make better decisions for the future, we first have to truly connect with it. The threats and opportunities of tomorrow often feel abstract and distant, making them easy to ignore. The key is to make them feel real and vivid in our minds today. Cognitive scientists call this “mental time travel,” where we use our memories to construct a detailed picture of a future event. For example, when young people in a study were shown realistic, computer-generated images of what they would look like in old age, they were significantly more likely to save money for retirement. The experience made their future self feel like a real person who needed their help. We don’t need fancy technology to do this. Simply writing a letter to your future self or your descendants can transform vague concerns about issues like climate change into a deeply personal and immediate problem that demands action. The more vividly we can imagine our future, the more we will care about it.
Even with a strong connection to the future, willpower can fail in the face of immediate temptation. A powerful strategy to overcome this is to plan your reactions ahead of time. This is known as the “if/then” ritual. Instead of just hoping you’ll resist a cookie, you create a specific plan: “If I walk past the bakery and smell cookies, then I will cross the street and think about my health goals.” This technique works because it creates an automatic script for your brain to follow, taking the difficult decision-making out of the moment of weakness. The more you practice anticipating obstacles and planning your response, the stronger your self-control becomes. This isn’t just for personal goals; it can be used in professional settings, like helping teachers respond more thoughtfully to disruptive students, creating a more positive environment for everyone.
Another trap we fall into is focusing too much on short-term measurements. We live in a world of constant data, from the daily fluctuations of the stock market to the number of steps on our fitness tracker. Our brains are wired to hate loss, so we overreact to small, temporary dips and forget about the bigger picture. An investor might sell a valuable stock because it dropped slightly for one day, losing out on huge long-term gains. To make wiser decisions, we need to tune out this “noise.” One successful investor had her employees hide her portfolio from her so she wouldn’t be tempted to react to daily market changes. In our own lives, this means focusing on long-term trends—like your average monthly savings or your overall sense of well-being—rather than obsessing over daily ups and downs.
Making sacrifices for a distant future goal can be difficult and demoralizing. To stay motivated, we need to find ways to get immediate rewards for our good behavior. This is the “glitter tactic”—sprinkling small, immediate pleasures onto the long path toward a future goal. When a child gets a balloon after a scary dentist appointment, they are more likely to be cooperative next time, which prevents future cavities. This simple idea can be applied to massive societal problems. For instance, people in hurricane-prone areas often ignore evacuation warnings because they cannot afford to leave their homes and possessions. However, when governments offer generous financial buyouts to help them relocate, people are far more willing to make the safer long-term choice. By rewarding good long-term behavior with immediate, positive incentives, we can encourage both ourselves and others to do what’s best for the future.
Ultimately, the most profound way to cultivate foresight is to see ourselves as part of a story that is much bigger than our own lives. When we hold a family heirloom, we feel a connection to our ancestors and a responsibility to our descendants. This item connects the past, present, and future. We can apply this same mindset to our shared resources, like our planet. When we view the natural world as a precious heirloom, we are more motivated to protect it. A community of lobstermen in Mexico did just this. Facing the depletion of their only livelihood, they created a sustainable system to ensure that there would be lobsters for their children and grandchildren. They didn’t just take what they could for a quick profit; they acted as caretakers for the future. This is the final, essential lesson: true long-term thinking comes from asking ourselves a simple but powerful question: How can I be a good ancestor?
