Importance of the Present vs the Future

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SUMMARY

This discussion explores the psychological dynamics of decision-making between present gratification and future benefits. Participants analyze scenarios where individuals choose to sacrifice immediate enjoyment for potential future savings, such as traveling long distances to purchase cheaper items. The conversation highlights the role of indecision and personal preferences in shaping these choices, concluding that there is no universally superior approach; rather, it varies based on individual perspectives on happiness and satisfaction.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of psychological decision-making processes
  • Familiarity with concepts of present vs. future value
  • Knowledge of behavioral economics principles
  • Awareness of cognitive biases affecting choices
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the concept of temporal discounting in behavioral economics
  • Explore cognitive biases that influence decision-making, such as loss aversion
  • Investigate strategies for improving decisiveness in personal and professional contexts
  • Study the impact of immediate vs. delayed gratification on mental well-being
USEFUL FOR

This discussion is beneficial for psychologists, behavioral economists, and individuals interested in understanding the complexities of human decision-making and the balance between immediate and future rewards.

DarkFalz
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Hello,

i would like to share some thoughts about this question i have been thinking about. Everyday we make choices that affect the future, sometimes we even choose to compromisse some of the present time or resources just to build something better in the future.

Sometimes i try to reverse engineer the human mind, and my point in here is, how does the human mind cope with these choices? There are several situation when we opt to, for instance, do a long car travel just to save some Money on buying something because it is cheaper on some farther away place. In this situation we may have a really boring time during the car travel, and the benefit only comes later. On the other hand, if we had bought the thing we wanted at a nearer place, we wouldn't have such a boring moment even though we may end up wasting more Money. What exists in our mind that makes the first situation better than the second one? The future only come after the present, so we will be some time away from benefitting from any possible future positive result.

Another even deeper thought i had about this, pertains to our thinking. Sometimes we could just act, without thinking, like just picking the first course of action. Nevertheless, when someone tells us "hey, let's us buy some drinks at that pub over there", our mind automatically starts thinking about some way to buy cheaper drinks, or at a nearest place. While we are thinking we are not "having fun", we could reach a pleasurable situation earlier by simply picking the first course of action, nonetheless we think about ways to reacher an even better state at the future, even if it will cost us time that we won't be having fun and will delay our pleasure.

What leads the human mind to act in the way it does on these situations?
 
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I like don't planning for the future, the future is far too unpredictable and uncertain to plan for.
 
DarkFalz said:
What leads the human mind to act in the way it does on these situations?
Indecision. It's different for everyone, some people are decisive and make their minds up right away. Is there some point to this, because I don't see one.
 
Evo said:
Indecision. It's different for everyone, some people are decisive and make their minds up right away. Is there some point to this, because I don't see one.

Is there one that can be considered better than the other? One of them has hapiness right away, the other one has 2x happiness after some period of time.
 
DarkFalz said:
Is there one that can be considered better than the other?
No, depends on the person.
 

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