the vampire problem
Would you like to become a vampire?
We may be careful and thorough when evaluating our decisions — but only from the perspective of our current self. We fail to understand how of our decisions actually change our perspectives and thereby changes ourselves.
So there are in fact two persons involved in the decision:
- You right now (the human you)
- You after the decision (the vampire you)
The human you right now might feel disgusted by the idea of being a vampire. But how would you feel after you've turned into one? Maybe the vampire you would love it. The power? All the new possibilities? Perhaps even the taste of blood?
Thankfully we don't have to decide on becoming a vampire that often.
But the same thing applies to many decisions we might face in our lives.
The current You might hate the idea of going to the gym, or eating a certain way, or simply spending any extra time and effort on any of these. But what if you tried it and turned it into a habit? That version of you might see things completely differently.
Or maybe you are wondering about having a child? Ask any parent, and they'll probably tell you how becoming one completely changed them. Yet the decision to proceed is made (on the first child, at least) by the version of you who has no idea of what it's like.
So how do we evaluate things from the perspective of our future selves?
Well, we can't. Sorry to disappoint. That's why it's called the vampire problem.
But simply realizing that we aren't just making the decision for our current selves and can't understand all the different outcomes of the decision might greatly change our decision-making for the better.
You make decisions for the future you, not just the current you.