Why We Sabotage Our Future Selves

Why We Sabotage Our Future Selves

Author: Pushkin Industries July 1, 2024 Duration: 28:15

We often do things that will make our lives more stressful or difficult in the future, like overspending when we should save, eating junk food that makes us feel bad, or agreeing to committments when we should protect our free time. Why does it seem like we're always sabotaging our future selves?

University of California Los Angeles' Hal Hershfield helps us find the balance between listening to what we want now and the preferences our future selves might have. And Dr. Laurie steps into an AI time machine to get some happiness advice for herself decades from today.

Try talking to the “you of tomorrow” using the MIT Media Lab’s Future You chatbot.

Experts Mentioned:
- Gal Zauberman, Professor of Marketing, Yale School of Management

Resources Mentioned:
- “Doing Unto Future Selves as You Would Do Unto Others: Psychological Distance and Decision Making," (Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2008)
- Tupac Hologram Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre Perform Coachella Live 2012
- Experience on Demand: What Virtual Reality Is, How It Works, and What It Can Do by Jeremy Bailenson (2018)

Related episodes of “The Happiness Lab”:
- “How to Kick Bad Habits (and Start Good Ones)
- “For Whom the Alarm Clock Tolls
- “Choice Overload
- “Stop Endlessly Chasing the ‘Next Big Thing’

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


We often chase after things we believe will bring us joy-the next promotion, a perfect vacation photo, a bigger house-only to find the feeling is fleeting. The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos digs into the surprising psychology behind why our instincts about happiness are so frequently wrong. Dr. Santos, a Yale professor, doesn't just offer vague self-help advice; she translates the rigorous research from her record-breaking university course into practical, actionable science. Each episode feels like a personal conversation, where she breaks down complex studies and shares stories from people who've applied these lessons, revealing how counterintuitive changes in our daily routines and mindset can have a profound impact. This Pushkin Industries podcast moves beyond the surface of wellness trends, offering a grounded look at what genuinely improves our well-being across our social lives, personal health, and cultural expectations. Tuning in, you'll hear not just theory, but the tangible steps you can take to rewire your habits, backed by evidence that often contradicts our modern chase for more. It’s a refreshing take that makes the science of a better life accessible and genuinely useful, episode by episode.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos
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