The big killer: short-term decisions

Now that you are a few years older, to return to your weight at graduation comes with a problem: It   would take too many months of green leafy veggies, nuts, and sweat-breaking exercise. The value you place on the fit-as-a-fiddle you is just no match for the pleasure of your couch and the uproar of your taste buds as they cheer for boxed food and sugar.

Psychologists say it’s a problem of discounting; we discount the value of the future event. It means the further away the desired goal (a slim you) the less you value it compared to the chocolate right now. Decisions to favour long-term outcomes are difficult because the benefits are too far removed from day-to-day life.  

Whether you make the long or short-term decision depends on the magnitude of the benefit (how much weight will you actually lose) and the length of the delay (how long will it take to lose the weight). The more pounds you can shed over the shortest period of time, the easier it will be to resist the chocolate and get on your bike. 

The same is true for every long-term benefit. There is always the problem of delay. Our desire to buy new crap wins out over having sufficient money to live well in retirement. The new motor home fulfills an immediate desire for fun family camping but reduces future security. Politicians’ short-term desire for re-election motivates them to cater to the loudest lobbyist with the most cash rather than address the more serious and unpopular long-term issues such as an aging population, global warming, and cyber security to name a few. The absence of long-term decision making is killing us.

The further in the future the long term benefits are, the more we de-value or discount them. It makes decisions in favour of immediate rewards preferable but wrong. But eventually what is many years down the road will be on our doorstep and it will be too late.  

Whether we want to restore our waist-line, our health, our financial security, or the world’s precious resources, we cannot continue to shoot ourselves in the foot with dumb and selfish decisions to satisfy immediate wants rather than long-term needs. Why do we fall prey to such short-sightedness?

Joshi and Fast (2013) discovered that a decreased sense of power weakens our connection with our future which pushes us toward the short-term course of action. Is that why you make dumb short-term decisions; because you feel less powerful, less in control, and less able to shape your future?  Today’s rate of change, information overload, and the complexity of our world have caused too many to throw up their hands and conclude, “I can’t make a difference anyway so why even try.” Once they cross that mental threshold they forego the best decision in favour of short-term gratification.

More fact finding, education, and open-mindedness may help. Smith, Wigboldus and Dijksterhuis (2008) found that abstract thinking vs. concrete thinking increased individuals’ sense of power. It also makes us smarter and tilts the dial in favour of long-term decision making. According to Mark Ylvisaker (2006) of the Brain Injury Association of New York State, abstract thinking is associated with better foresight, judgment, insight, reasoning, creativity, problem solving, and mental flexibility. It helps us to see the big picture and connect the dots rather than throw up our hands and opt for the immediate easy choices.

The consequences of repeated short-term decisions are dire. The more we cater to the short-term, the more we neglect the long-term and the sicker everything becomes: people, animals, air, water, top-soil, as well as personal and international relationships. It’s time we educate ourselves, hone our abstract thinking skills, and make the necessary long-term choices, so we can live well between our ears.                    

Copyright © Doug Spencer 2013                    Comment