Your Future Self

We've all had the desire to travel through time and to see what life will be like for our future selves. While we want to envision the best possible future, why do some of us fail to make decisions that will truly make that a reality, while others succeed? Why do some of us choose steak over vegetables at dinner, waving off concerns of raising our cholesterol? Why do some splurge on luxury cars that we can't really afford, while others choose cheaper models and save more for the future? Why are so many of us so disconnected from our future selves?

In YOUR FUTURE SELF, Hal Hershfield reveals his groundbreaking research that shows that, in our minds, our future self often looks like a stranger. Many of us view the future as incredibly distant, making us more likely to opt for immediate gratification that disregards the health and wellbeing of ourselves in the years to come. People who are able to connect with their future selves, however, are better able to balance living for today and planning for tomorrow. YOUR FUTURE SELF explains the science, describes the mental mistakes we make in thinking about the future, and gives us practical advice for imagining our best future so that we can make that a reality.

About the Author

Hal Hershfield is a professor of marketing, behavioural decision-making, and psychology at UCLA's Anderson School of Management, where he has won numerous awards for his teaching and research. His research on future selves has received widespread attention in outlets such as NPR, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, the Washington Post, and The Atlantic. Hershfield's research has been published in prestigious business, psychology, and general science academic journals, as well as in the Harvard Business Review, Scientific American, and Psychology Today.