The Decisions You Make Today Will be Your Reality Tomorrow

I think the idea of a behavioral time machine is a good way to look at long-term goals, whether that be for health, safety, finances, career...etc. It's a good method to get people to re-evaluate their present choices and look at consequences and necessary steps to achieve those goals. But although I do think looking at future self is very important, in recent years I've become more of an advocate of doing things for the present self.

I feel like if you're always looking at only doing things for the future self, there is an almost a lack of self. If you're constantly working for new long-term goals, I don't think you can ever be satisfied or content with the things you have in your life presently. Unless you are completely satisfied with taking little steps to achieve said future self or you are capable of imagining your complete future self, I just don't think it's a healthy way to live to only make choices that you will benefit from in the future. In this sense I feel like instant gratification is a good thing to indulge in somewhat regularly. There's a different sense of satisfaction knowing that you really wanted ice cream today so you ate ice cream or you wanted to watch Netflix in your PJs so you did just that. I think it's really important to people's mental health and self-esteem to do things today that you want to do today and not restrict yourself to choices you may benefit from later on. Of course, this isn't implying that people should never have big goals, I think it's just important to not let the big picture overwhelm our lives and control every aspect of what we do. (Also sorry for this tangent and if this wasn't really directly answering your question lmao)

Letting people hear from older individuals that have made similar choices in life may be a way to get people to understand the effects of their choices. For me personally, hearing from current grad students or older undergrad students helps me understand some different ways I can make choices in my college career. A lot of the time they show me potential career options, study habits, major choices, ways to get information...etc.

I think the behavioral time machine can be both beneficial and harmful. Similar to statistics-based ads, when they don't include a general call to action (regardless of where you fall in relation to the average person), it can cause someone who's doing the right thing already to start slacking/engage in the destructive behavior, whereas it can still encourage the positive behavior in someone who's engaging in the destructive behavior. The behavioral time machine could potentially make someone believe that they can start slacking a little (in school or otherwise) if they see a future they like, but can be extremely encouraging in making people want to change what their future will be. I often find real-life testimonies of people who are at the place in life that I hope to be at someday to be really helpful in motivating me to work harder.

In response to Stacy, I completely understand what you are trying to say; however, what my point was that by sacrificing certain things now that are satisfying (watching Netflix 3 hours a day) oppose to study and sleeping, can in turn make the results of these actions lower productivity and cause one to get lets say a bad grade. Delayed gratification (getting a A) can be a lot more satisfying than instant gratification. Feeling great about your health has a much longer effect of bliss than that Asian combo meal at Rende. It all has to do with our decision making, which is the difference between a happy life and a miserable life.

I think that this behavioral time machine could be a great motivation for people who want to achieve more but that are lazy, or are not motivated. The thing is that a goal is a choice: if it is important enough an individual will choose to work hard and achieve it regardless of the effort necessary. If one lacks of motivation, maybe it is because that goal is not significant enough to have that person overcome his/her laziness, fear or whatever it may be, and could make one reconsider his decision. I think that the machine Goldstein talks about is a good idea, but I do not think it would work for everyone. I believe that before even considering using this machine on someone, we would have to determine that person's philosophy of life. In the end, we all have the same future self which is simply a happier version of our present self. Therefore we must figure out our own definition of happiness, and act accordingly. For example, if to me, happiness was the satisfaction of all my desires, then the behavioral time machine would not be of much use to me because instant gratification would be the way to go for me. On the other hand, my definition of happiness was to fulfill my duty as a human being (i.e. be healthy, reasonable, get a good job etc.) then the machine could be of great use at times when I feel down. I am not against the concept of the machine as it would help certain people I am sure, but it is just will not work for everyone.

I think the time machine would definitely benefit a lot of people, one of them being me. A lot of times, the present self's need for instant gratification stops us from seeing and realizing our future goals, manly because we tend to dismiss the effects the actions we do now on our future; i.e its hard to see the long terms effects of eating that gelato at cafe 1919 when you crave it. In general, we tend to dismiss long term effects. Therefore, I think this machine would be a great tool because it will act as a constant reminder of the importance of each small action we take now, on our future. Particularly, I think the visual content is what makes it so effective, because even if one is motivated, say, about losing weight or succeeding on a specific task, visualizing it can have a much more profound effect than just thinking about it.

On a side note: I can't but think of the Adam Sandler movie "Click" where he is given this magic remote that allows him to fast forward through events in his life. It is only after seeing and experiencing what his life would end up like that he is able to actually make changes to his present lifestyle. I think the time machine can act like this fictional remote control!