Your future is in the present

You have a few hours of free time on Thursday. Will you study for next week’s test or will you first watch an episode of The Crown? You wake up early on Sunday morning and your gym shoes are calling out to you. You stare at them and then end up sprawling on the couch, catching up on your WhatsApp messages. It’s mid-October and you think you are ahead of the game in applying for summer internships. But come December and you realise that you have missed most deadlines.

Practically, every day, we are presented with choices that determine our future lives. Yet, we often end up making sub-optimal selections, often knowing very well what the consequences might be. In her well-researched book, The Optimist’s Telescope, author Bina Venkatraman examines this pan-human tendency to make myopic and costly decisions, both individually and as groups. She also provides pointers on how we might cultivate our foresight, which she defines as “judgment to make smart choices about the future.”

The author makes a clear distinction between having “information about future consequences” and foresight, which involves the exercise of “good judgment.” Even as meteorologists get more sophisticated at predicting hurricanes and cyclones, we don’t necessarily heed their warnings by moving out of harm’s way. A “good forecast” doesn’t necessarily mean “good foresight,” argues Venkatraman. However, we can learn to curb our recklessness, or penchant for making poor decisions.

Part of the problem, argues the author, is that we live in a society that extols “quick results” and focuses on metrics, or things that can be measured easily. While well-meaning parents and educators may want the best education for children, adults typically fixate on marks instead of gauging how student lives pan out over the long term.

Are Rohan’s marks in the Maths test more important than his conceptual grasp or love of the subject? Is Nikita’s rank more crucial than her grit or ability to learn independently? Even though marks and ranks may get students a coveted college placement, they do not guarantee success in the long term. On the contrary, intangible qualities like perseverance, curiosity or an insatiable thirst for continuous learning can lead to a more fulfilling and resilient future.

Holistic measures

Our obsession with numbers also stems from our desire to gauge our progress. While this is indeed necessary, we need to be circumspect on the metrics we select as they “shape not just our perspective but also our actions.” Venkatraman cites an amusing anecdote of a friend who wanted to grow fitter and wore a Fitbit to measure the number of steps she took each day. As colleagues at her company were goading each other by comparing their steps, the author’s friend went for a short walk every day during her lunch hour to garner more steps.

However, she also passed a delectable bakery and couldn’t resist her favourite treat, thus, negating the benefits she accrued from her walk.

Instead of relying on individual indicators, argues Venkatraman, we may adopt more holistic measures. Thus, fitness may be assessed by keeping tabs on our body-mass index, how many calories we consume, our endurance in terms of how long and how fast we can walk or run etc. Multiple indices are likely to provide a more robust and accurate picture than standalone figures.

Another factor that contributes to our short-sightedness is our inability to imagine unsavoury future outcomes for ourselves. Venkatraman describes an ingenious study by economist Hal Hershfield to encourage “young people to save for their futures.” Using virtual reality simulations, college students, who saw themselves as wizened, silvered people, were more likely to put away “money for retirement” than students who did not see their older “avatars”.

Some people also get anxious when they think of a future outcome, and, to quell their unease, they may blind themselves to what is in store.

Psychologist Tracy Gleason advises people to imagine themselves dealing successfully with impediments that arise. This strategy may reduce a person’s angst while also giving them ideas for productive solutions.

Venkatraman urges us to “imagine the future better” by engaging in activities like writing a letter to our older selves or even our “hypothetical great-grandchildren,” or creating a legacy, either in the form of a body of work or bringing about a change in attitude, that outlives our mortal selves.

To further curb our proclivity for imprudent decisions, psychologist Peter Gollwitzer suggests making “implementation intentions” or using “if/then” thinking by anticipating our weak spots. So, you could promise yourself, “If Rina coaxes me to meet with her this weekend, I will tell her that I have to work on my high-stakes Stats project.”

Likewise, if you are invited for a party and you want to avoid alcohol, plan beforehand what you will say when offered a drink, “I am driving back so I’ll have a lemon soda.” While your friends may continue to badger you, being armed with an excuse will help you to be more resolute. In fact, you can even make an if-then plan, if your friends try to continually persuade you.

Though we know not what the future holds, we may pave a smoother path for ourselves by exercising foresight. Whether it involves resisting the lure of quick results, choosing meaningful metrics, imagining future outcomes or drawing up contingency plans, we may continually coax ourselves to make wiser decisions. Our future selves will hopefully thank us for it.

(The author is director, PRAYATNA)