If you could get a snapshot into your future, would that simplify your life now? To know if the decisions you are making will pan out; if the financial finish lines you are chasing will be met; if the health and fitness goals will be worth the time and effort. Time travel into the future has long been the realm of science-fiction… but professor Hal Hershfield thinks it also might be the key to making better decisions today.

A professor of Marketing, Behavioral Decision Making, and Psychology at UCLA's Anderson School of Management, Dr. Hershfield is a leading researcher and expert on the intersection of time, decision-making, and imagination. Why do you choose the fatty steak over the salad? Why is it easier to go for the instant gratification of spending instead of saving? Why is it more compelling to sleep-in than get up and exercise? Dr. Hershfield believes it's because we're not considering, or seeing, our future selves correctly. He believes better decision making today begins with correctly understanding how each of those decisions influences our future selves. He recently distilled over a decade of his incredible research into a new book, Your Future Self: How to Make Tomorrow Better Today. In it, Dr. Hershfield explores the power that considering your future self can have on improving our lives, and how we can begin to do that today. Brief legal disclaimer: This podcast is intended for informational purposes only. The ideas and opinions on this episode do not constitute tax, legal or investment advice. Listeners should seek the input of their own tax, legal, and financial planning professionals before acting on any of the information provided. Any speaker on this podcast expresses ideas that are subjective to the time of the recording, and are subject to change without notice, and are not always indicative of the opinions of the underwriters of this show. This episode should not replace the diligence of a full financial plan with a financial planning professional that can take your specific situation into account.