Make Me Old…And Rich
You know how your diet starts tomorrow? Or that you’ll save more money next month? Well, new research has uncovered a startling, and simple, solution.
It seems one of the problems with long-term goals is that we see our future selves in the 3rd person: a bit like other people, but not actually like us. This means changing behaviour now for a benefit only our future selves will see is so much harder… The us of the future doesn’t really seem like us so, the benefit is disconnected.
The solution? Time travel. Well, sort of.
Researchers have found that showing people vivid images of their future selves makes them much more likely to favour long-term goals. After exposure to a computer-generated vision of their future self, people were twice as likely to allocate $1,000 to retirement savings versus three other options: buying a gift for someone else, planning a fun event or banking the money in their own current account.
What’s really interesting is that most of us have this technology in our pockets. The App store is full of “make me old” apps which, given this research, could serve a much more useful and meaningful purpose. Food for thought next time you’re seeing what you’d look like as a Granny (or Grandad).
You can read a Q&A with the researchers on Harvard Business Review’s site here: http://bit.ly/14v9OT8
