Considering our future selves in our actions and decisions can help us avoid prioritizing present needs over future consequences.
Embracing the idea that our interests, perspectives, and preferences can change over time can foster humility, curiosity, and personal growth.
Deep dives
Our Relationship with Our Future Selves
Psychologist Hal Hirschfield conducted research on our perception of our future selves and found that our brains often view our future selves as separate individuals. This perception can affect our decision-making, causing us to prioritize present needs over future consequences. By understanding this cognitive bias, we can work towards becoming more aware of the importance of considering our future selves in our actions and decisions.
The Illusion of Continuity
Roman Krznaric highlights the illusion of continuity, which is our tendency to believe that we will remain the same person in the future. However, our interests, perspectives, and preferences can undergo significant changes over time. Embracing this idea can help us cultivate humility, exercise curiosity, and be open to personal growth and transformation.
Planning for Future Generations
Bina Venkatraman emphasizes the importance of planning and making decisions with future generations in mind. She discusses how we often neglect the long-term consequences of our actions and urges us to extend our time horizons and think beyond the present. By becoming good ancestors to future generations, we can leave a positive and sustainable legacy for those who will come after us.
The Time Rebel Movement
Roman Krznaric introduces the concept of time rebellion, a movement that challenges short-term thinking and embraces a longer view of time. Time rebels advocate for seventh-generation decision-making, engage in future design thinking, and even take legal action to protect the rights of future generations. By becoming time rebels, individuals and communities can work towards a more sustainable and inclusive future.
Who will you be in 10 years? In 20 years? Envisioning how you will evolve is very hard. This hour, TED speakers share ideas on how to better plan for the future, while allowing for the unexpected. Guests include psychologist Hal Hershfield, journalist Shankar Vedantam, journalist Bina Venkataraman and philosopher Roman Krznaric.
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