Making Decisions Your Future Self Will Thank You For

Most decisions optimize for the present. What do I want now? What feels good today? What's easiest right now?

The best decisions optimize for the future. What will I be glad I did? What serves the person I'm becoming?

Learning to make decisions on behalf of your future self is one of the most valuable skills you can develop.

The Future Self Is a Stranger

Research by psychologist Hal Hershfield suggests we often think about our future selves the way we think about other people—somewhat abstract, not quite real. That's why we make choices that burden future-us without much concern.

"Future me will deal with it." "Future me will exercise more." "Future me will figure it out."

But future you is still you. They'll inherit the consequences of today's choices.

How to Connect With Future Self

Visualize specifically. Not a vague "future." Picture yourself at 40, 50, 70. Where are you? What does a day look like? What do you care about?

Write a letter from future you. What does that version of you want to tell present you? What are they grateful for? What do they wish you'd done differently?

Ask: "What will I wish I had started today?" In 5 years, what will you regret not beginning now? That's probably what you should start.

The Trade-Off Is Real

Optimizing for your future self often means sacrificing present comfort. Saving money instead of spending it. Building skills instead of relaxing. Having hard conversations instead of avoiding them.

This isn't about punishing present you. It's about recognizing that present and future you are the same person. What you want "now" isn't more real than what you'll want "then."

Small Decisions, Big Impact

The decisions that most affect your future self aren't the big dramatic ones. They're the small daily ones that compound.

• What you eat consistently shapes your health decades out
• How you spend time shapes your skills and relationships
• What you save shapes your security and options

These don't feel significant in the moment. They're enormous over time.

A Useful Filter

For any decision: "Would my 80-year-old self thank me for this?"

Not every choice needs this lens. What to have for lunch doesn't matter at 80. But for anything significant—career, relationships, health, money—the question clarifies.

You're not just making a decision. You're making a future.