Yesterday, while taking the train down to Barcelona, I came across a Ted Talk that I felt was absolutely astounding. Philip Zimbardo a past president of the American Psychological Association and a professor emeritus at Stanford, Zimbardo retired in 2008 from lecturing, and has not only researched the psychology of evil, but has also published The Time Paradox, exploring different cultural and personal perspectives on time.
I had first heard of his work a few months ago on a podcast, and for the life of me, I have no idea which podcast, but the main crux if the argument was essentially those who delayed satisfaction are said to be more successful, happier and more fulfilled.
In this particular Ted Talk, he fleshes out his theory by saying there are generally, 3 types of people:
- Present Oriented: Individuals who are only concerned with the moment and answer the question “what can I experience now?”
- Past Focused: Decisions are based on what they’ve experience prior to this moment – “based on past experiences, what will I choose now?”
- Future Focused: Decisions are based on cost benefit analysis of the future – “If I choose X now, what will be the repercussions or consequences of my choice?”
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