Eat the Marshmallow
"Seize the day, place in the hours that come as little faith as you can." — Horace
Would you rather travel to a Caribbean island now, or save that money to retire early? Travelling in your thirties isn’t the same thing as travelling in your fifties. Timing is important.
Different people choose different options. But it’s been shown time and again that humans prefer to live in the present. This concept is known as time preference, and it doesn’t get the attention it deserves. A low time preference means you’re willing to wait some time to receive a better reward in the future. A high time preference, in contrast, means you want that dopamine hit now.
My friend
has a thing or two to say about this.Financial gurus pontificate on the benefits of having a low time preference. You shouldn’t eat out, go on holiday, or consume anything. Save everything to retire early, so that you can do in your 50s what you never did in your 20s.
How sad.
I wasn’t born to lead a miserable life until I’m old. But let’s be fair — a low time preference comes with many benefits.
Behavioural short-sightedness
As much as I dislike people who look down on others for indulging in the present, they have a point.
For example, households in western countries owe more than what they make in one year. Saving rates have plummeted, while indebtedness has increased in the last 50 years.
Democracies give politicians a few years between elections to do as they please. Governments don’t have enough time to make an impact — policies take time. If you change governments every 4 years, then nothing ever gets done well.
Having a low time preference is a solution for all of this. A study from 2020 has shown that being patient offers a wealth of benefits:
[…] We document a consistent and often significant positive relationship between patience and the corresponding domain, with the strongest associations in educational attainment, wealth, and financial decisions.
You only live once
The other side of the coin is that we’re running out of time. You will never be this young again — ever. My favourite poem from antiquity is an ode by Latin poet Horace. Here’s the translation by Poem Hunter.
Leuconoë, don’t ask, we never know, what fate the gods grant us,
whether your fate or mine, don’t waste your time on Babylonian,
futile, calculations. How much better to suffer what happens,
whether Jupiter gives us more winters or this is the last one,
one debilitating the Tyrrhenian Sea on opposing cliffs.
Be wise, and mix the wine, since time is short: limit that far-reaching hope.
The envious moment is flying now, now, while we’re speaking:
Seize the day, place in the hours that come as little faith as you can.
It’s much better in Latin, but you get the idea. I’m sure you’re familiar with the expression seize the day, or carpe diem. Not only does it make a good tattoo when you’re a teenager, but it’s an idea that has stood the test of time for millennia.
Stoicism has become extremely popular in recent times — but it’s boring. Horace offers a tempting alternative to all the Marcus Aurelius bros. We’re just passing by on this beautiful planet, so make the most of your time. Drink wine, ask her out, quit your job, short Nvidia. Worst case scenario is you embarrass yourself and have a good story to tell. Best case is that it works and it makes you a happier person.
Another way to look at it is picturing yourself at age 80. Then ask yourself — would I regret having done this? If the answer is no, go for it. This is how Jeff Bezos decided to quit his job to focus full-time on Amazon. He called it the regret minimisation framework.
Key takeaway
If you could only remember one thing from this article, I would like it to be this one:
You can plan for the future and enjoy the present at the same time.
Photo of the week
Another pic from my road trip. This time in Cádiz, Spain. That promenade is known as Little Havana, a testament to Cádiz’s colonial influence.
Alejandro López — The Psychology of Wealth
I hardly ever took any vacations UNTIL I could afford to bring some of my grandkids along. Those were great vacations! You might call this approach, "Seize the day, eventually."
"You can plan for the future and enjoy the present at the same time" is exactly it. AKA, You can have your cake and eat it, too.
Back when I worked in Panama City as an expat, I could have afforded a sweet spot. Instead, I rented a room in my friend's apartment. Went to San Blas (nice photo!), Santa Catalina, Playa Venado on weekends and stayed in hostels. Had an awesome time. Saved mucho money, which has since quintupled. Ten years later, I'm living in a one-bedroom apartment with my wife and two young sons. We live by the beach, escape to South Africa for the winter, and are free to spend all the time we want with our kids instead of at some office or on business trips.
My only quibble about the post is about regret minimization. From what I've read, that's too defensive, which can lead to poor decision making. Better to adopt a mindset of trying to maximize the opposite of regrets (anti-regrets): actions that pay dividends for the rest of your life.