Are You Treating Your Future Self Like a Stranger?

Anti-aging is big business. According to some estimates, the global anti-aging market in 2018 was worth around US$50 billion. It seems many of us will do almost anything to look young. Yet, could our present focus on preserving youth be shortchanging our futures?

We're living longer, but our savings are not keeping pace. According to a recent RBC survey, only 54 per cent of Canadians have a retirement plan — and of those, about a third say the plan is "in my head." Plus, according to Statistics Canada, households in the bottom income quintile (a group representing about 20 per cent of the population with the lowest income) are, on average, spending more than they're earning — resulting in something called "dissaving."

Why Saving Can Be So Hard

Are you more likely to spend money on a stranger or on yourself? If you're like most people, you would put yourself first. And therein lies the problem: we view our future selves as strangers.

Scientists call this phenomenon "present bias" — we place a higher value on things we can enjoy now. So, spending $10 today is more compelling than investing it and potentially giving $30 to a future self we can't relate to. This has implications for our motivation to save.

Blame Your Brain

A study conducted using MRI technology found that certain areas of the brain light up when people think about themselves, but those same areas are less active when we think about others — and that includes our future selves.

In another study, researchers found that when test subjects used virtual reality to interact with computer-generated, older versions of themselves, they were more likely to feel an emotional connection. This made them less susceptible to present bias, as well as more likely to delay financial rewards.

Follow Your Inner Compass

Personal intelligence is our capacity to reason about personality and use that information to think about ourselves and others. It's like an inner compass that helps us choose not only agreeable friends and companions but also suitable life goals. The higher our personal intelligence, the better able we are to imagine our future selves, and the more likely we are to take actions in the present to reach our goals.

Feeling greater connection with and empathy for our future selves may lead to better decision-making; we might eat healthier, exercise more and behave more ethically — and we're more likely to have a financial plan.

Get Vivid

To get closer to your future self, use your imagination. How will you dress? Where will you live? Visualize the things you enjoy doing today — travel, dining out, hobbies, shopping. Your future self may also like those things. How will you provide for him or her?

Meet and Greet

Once you have a picture of your future self, interview him or her. (Try pairing up with a friend and interviewing each other's future selves.) Ask what advice your future self has for your present self.

If you need something more vivid, there is an Aging Booth app that instantly adds grey hair, jowls, wrinkles and other signs of old age to your photo.

Alternatively, you can try out an aging suit. There's a Japanese-made suit that simulates limited mobility and reduced vision and hearing. Medical professionals wear it to better understand and have empathy for the physical limitations of their elderly patients.

Consider Challenges

Instead of only visualizing an idealized retirement, contemplate what obstacles you might have to overcome to reach your goals. This will help you plan and find the resources ahead of time.