Future Shock
Future Shock
Jonathan Clements November 7, 2020
WHY DO WE MAKE spending decisions that we later regret? Yes, we tend to live for today and give scant thought to tomorrow. But it’s more complicated than that—which brings me to four insights from psychology.
I find the insights below fascinating, in part because they describe how I behave with uncanny accuracy. Many readers, I suspect, will also catch a glimpse of their own behavior:
Moral licensing. If we do something good—exercise, give to charity, work late, purchase an eco-friendly product—we often give ourselves permission to do something that’s not so good, such as rewarding ourselves with junk food or a new pair of shoes. In fact, research has found that simply thinking about doing something good, even if we don’t follow through, can prompt not-so-good behavior.
This is certainly a mindset I have. If I’ve been careful about my eating all week, I feel I “deserve” something unhealthy. Two decades ago, when I regularly ran marathons and half-marathons, I’d typically do my long runs on Saturday morning—and spend much of the time pondering the Italian sub and fries I’d devour afterwards.
Willpower budget. As with moral licensing, this is another explanation for why we slip from the straight and narrow. The notion: If we’ve been disciplined all day—eating carefully, focused on work, going to the gym at lunchtime—we might reach the end of the day with our willpower budget depleted, leading us to have that extra glass of wine or an extra-large slice of pie.
Can we expand our willpower budget? It isn’t clear. But if we can take our desired good behavior and turn it into habits—perhaps we make it a point to always exercise on certain days, always have a salad for lunch and always max out our 401(k)—these things may come to require little or no willpower. Our good habits may not expand our willpower budget, but they could free up part of that budget for other areas where we’re trying to improve our behavior.
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