Why Future Planning Can Sabotage Present Happiness
Picture this: a young entrepreneur in 1990s San Francisco walks past a burrito shop and sees a sign that reads "tattoo me on your body and get free food for the rest of your life." Most of us would keep walking. Greg didn't. He tried the burrito, liked it, and got the tattoo the very next day.
Greg's decision illustrates something fascinating about human behaviour that affects far more than tattoo choices - it highlights the difference between living in the moment and being paralysed by future planning.
The Hyperopia Trap
I recently heard this story from UCLA psychology professor Hal Hershfield as he was explaining his research into “hyperopia”- a condition where we become so focused on future outcomes that we miss present opportunities. (A condition I am personally guilty of but looking to address).
Unlike myopia (short-sightedness that prioritises immediate gratification), hyperopia causes us to perpetually delay meaningful experiences whilst waiting for the "perfect" moment.
I am not alone in experiencing this. That bottle of red at home, waiting for the "right occasion". The family trips postponed until "things settle down at work."
"Hyperopia is when we make decisions where we're focused on the future so much that we end up missing out on the present," Hershfield explains.
One key driver of hyperopia is what psychologists call "time slack", which is our tendency to overestimate how much time we'll have in the future. We all do it – I just need to get through my to do list over the next couple of weeks and then I’ll have more time and energy. This creates what Hershfield calls the "yes damn effect." You know the feeling: someone invites you to an event six months away, your calendar looks empty, so you say yes. When the time comes, you're overwhelmed and regret the commitment.
The same mechanism works in reverse for positive experiences. We tell ourselves we'll have more time later for that meaningful trip, that important conversation with a friend, that creative project. But "later" rarely arrives with the abundance of time we imagined.
Research reveals a sobering pattern: we spend the most time with family and children during our 20s to 40s, then it dramatically decreases. The only graph that consistently rises with age? Time spent alone. These aren't inevitable patterns but can be the result of hyperopic thinking that assumes we'll reconnect "when things calm down."
The RELAX Framework
Hershfield proposes a practical framework called RELAX for combating hyperopia:
Reflect on future feelings - Instead of just considering the cost or time involved in committing to an activity, vividly imagine how you'll feel during and after positive experiences. Research shows we're remarkably poor at predicting our future emotional states.
Envision regrets - Studies find that people regret actions in the short term but inactions in the long term. Ask yourself: "How will I feel if I don't do this?"
Leave the zone of comfort and challenge your default patterns. Are your days simply filled with tasks? When did you last do something you truly loved? This binary framing helps people recognise gradual drift away from meaningful activities.
Act now, enjoy later - Commit in advance to positive experiences. Just as we use commitment devices to avoid bad habits, we can use them to ensure good ones happen. It took me 12 months of planning to walk the Camino de Santiago in 2024, but it was worth the effort.
eXpect satisfaction - Remember that experiences provide three types of value, (1) anticipation, (2) the experience itself, and (3) retrospective memories. Interestingly, anticipation ranks highest for satisfaction, followed by retrospective memories, with the experience itself the lowest!
As a financial adviser, we often deal with hyperopia with clients. As I like to say, I don’t want to have rich 85-year-old clients. It is often better to spend more along the way or help friends and family with a warm hand.
The challenge is the very traits that make people excellent savers like future focus, discipline, and careful planning, can become obstacles to enjoying the wealth they've created. This is where the Lorica team can play a crucial role by helping clients strike a balance between prudent saving and meaningful spending.
This might involve:
Regularly revisiting and updating financial plans to ensure they align with evolving life goals and values.
Encouraging you to allocate funds for experiences or purchases that bring genuine joy and fulfillment. Money is an enabler, not an end in itself.
Working through the guilt lifelong savers feel when they finally can spend.
Facilitating family chats about wealth, values, and legacy and bridging the gap between generations.
As you can see, the goal is not to make impulsive decisions or abandon future planning but to recognise when our future focus becomes present paralysis.
What meaningful experience have you been postponing until the "right time"?
Ask yourself one question: “What will I regret in the future if I don’t do it?”
By addressing hyperopia, we hope to help our clients transform the perception of wealth management from simply growing assets to cultivating a rich, purposeful life.
Author: Rick Walker