There was a magical shift in our thinking, long time ago.
According to an Economist.
When we think of doing something NOW, that’s called “present good.”
When we think of doing something in the FUTURE, that’s called “future good.”
The shift happened when early humans learned to IMAGINE a “future good” in the “present,” thereby turning into a “present good.”
For example, let’s say you would like to eat some ice cream, RIGHT NOW.
But you also have a goal of losing weight, six months from now.
Now, you COULD, eat the ice cream now, and say you’ll get started on the diet TOMORROW. (You’ve never done this, right?)
Or you COULD take some time to imagine that FUTURE GOOD (you’re future body) SO MUCH, that it becomes MORE DESIRABLE, as you imagine it in the present (making it a “present good”) than eating the ice cream.
This is what that Economist thought happened to people as they slowly changed from hunter-gatherers (let’s go find something we can eat NOW), into farmers (let’s do work TODAY so we’ll have a CRAPLOAD of easy food in six months).
This REALLY kicked into high gear when any particular society had done this for a few years.
Because of the work in the PAST, they had food TODAY. Enough to last until the food in six months was ready.
Now, who in their right mind, when getting food is easy as planting seeds and waiting, would run after some scary animal and try to kill it?
Needless to say, once EVERYBODY turned into farmers, that’s when societies took off. Governments, laws, massive irrigation systems, running water in or near EVERY HOUSE.
Obviously, that was just the start. That event (the thinking “trick” of DELAYED GRATIFICATION) led to EVERYTHING we have today.
And you can use that SAME thinking trick to train yourself how to take the daily action needed to be able to create ANYTHING.
Fantastic relationships, interesting careers, million dollar skills.
How do you do this?
Every time you think about doing something in the future, there’s a potential BAD outcome and a potential GOOD outcome.
Unfortunately our monkey brains automatically will think of the BAD outcome, and keep you from taking action.
But with proper practice, and some reasoned thought when thinking about taking action, you can take that potential GOOD outcome, and make it BIGGER (in your mind) than that potential BAD outcome.
There are MANY ways to do this.
And with practice, ANY ACTION you’d like to take (giving a powerfully persuasive speech, talking to a super sexy person, explaining to your boss why it’s in HIS or HER best interest to give you a raise), will FEEL GOOD rather than scary.
Learn More: