We often do things that will make our lives more stressful or difficult in the future, like overspending when we should save, eating junk food that makes us feel bad, or agreeing to committments when we should protect our free time. Why does it seem like we're always sabotaging our future selves? 

University of California Los Angeles' Hal Hershfield helps us find the balance between listening to what we want now and the preferences our future selves might have. And Dr. Laurie steps into an AI time machine to get some happiness advice for herself decades from today.

Try talking to the “you of tomorrow” using the MIT Media Lab’s Future You chatbot.

Experts Mentioned:
- Gal Zauberman, Professor of Marketing, Yale School of Management

Resources Mentioned: 
- “Doing Unto Future Selves as You Would Do Unto Others: Psychological Distance and Decision Making," (Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2008)
- Tupac Hologram Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre Perform Coachella Live 2012
- Experience on Demand: What Virtual Reality Is, How It Works, and What It Can Do by Jeremy Bailenson (2018)

Related episodes of “The Happiness Lab”:
- “How to Kick Bad Habits (and Start Good Ones)”
- “For Whom the Alarm Clock Tolls”
- “Choice Overload”
- “Stop Endlessly Chasing the ‘Next Big Thing’”

We often do things that will make our lives more stressful or difficult in the future, like overspending when we should save, eating junk food that makes us feel bad, or agreeing to committments when we should protect our free time. Why does it seem like we're always sabotaging our future selves? University of California Los Angeles' <a href="https://www.anderson.ucla.edu/faculty-and-research/marketing/faculty/hershfield">Hal Hershfield</a> helps us find the balance between listening to what we want now and the preferences our future selves might have. And Dr. Laurie steps into an AI time machine to get some happiness advice for herself decades from today. Try talking to the &ldquo;you of tomorrow&rdquo; using the <a href="https://futureyou.media.mit.edu/">MIT Media Lab&rsquo;s Future You chatbot. </a>Experts Mentioned: - <a href="https://som.yale.edu/faculty-research/faculty-directory/gal-zauberman">Gal Zauberman</a>, Professor of Marketing, Yale School of Management Resources Mentioned: - &ldquo;<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18156588/">Doing Unto Future Selves as You Would Do Unto Others: Psychological Distance and Decision Making</a>," (Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2008) - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGbrFmPBV0Y">Tupac Hologram Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre Perform Coachella Live 2012</a> - <a href="https://sts.stanford.edu/publications/experience-demand-what-virtual-reality-how-it-works-and-what-it-can-do">Experience on Demand: What Virtual Reality Is, How It Works, and What It Can Do</a> by Jeremy Bailenson (2018) Related episodes of &ldquo;The Happiness Lab&rdquo;: - &ldquo;<a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos/how-to-kick-bad-habits-and-start-good-ones">How to Kick Bad Habits (and Start Good Ones)</a>&rdquo; - &ldquo;<a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos/for-whom-the-alarm-clock-tolls">For Whom the Alarm Clock Tolls</a>&rdquo; - &ldquo;<a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos/choice-overload">Choice Overload</a>&rdquo; - &ldquo;<a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos/stop-endlessly-chasing-the-next-big-thing-in-2023">Stop Endlessly Chasing the &lsquo;Next Big Thing&rsquo;</a>&rdquo;

You might think you know what it takes to lead a happier life… more money, a better job, or Instagram-worthy vacations. You’re dead wrong. Yale professor Dr. Laurie Santos has studied the science of happiness and found that many of us do the exact opposite of what will truly make our lives better. Based on the psychology course she teaches at Yale -- the most popular class in the university’s 300-year history -- Laurie will take you through the latest scientific research and share some surprising and inspiring stories that will change the way you think about happiness.

You might think you know what it takes to lead a happier life… more money, a better job, or Instagram-worthy vacations. You’re dead wrong. Yale professor Dr. Laurie Santos has studied the science of happiness and found that many of us do the exact opposite of what will truly make our lives better. Based on the psychology course she teaches at Yale -- the most popular class in the university’s 300-year history -- Laurie will take you through the latest scientific research and share some surprising and inspiring stories that will change the way you think about happiness.

The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos

Why We Sabotage Our Future Selves 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/604a2527-c7bd-4698-8a9a-b19b01339bf6/transcript