Adonis Diaries

This longing desire for Immediacy: The Hyperbolic Discounting

This “Live each day as if it was your last” crap does place huge value on immediacy that is not justifiable.

For example:

1. Would you take $1,000 a year Now or $1,100 in 13 months later? Where else can you get 120% per annum?

2. Would you prefer $1,000 in cash now or $1,100 a month from now?

The 2 examples are identical in outcome.

If you could wait 12 months, you figure out that waiting 13 months is not such a bad deal.

However, the terms Now and Cash cannot be discounted so easily

How about the “marshmallow experiment“?

The 4 year-old kids would not wait another minute to get 2 pieces of marshmallow instead of a single one.

What if they are offered 3 marshmallows? Would that make a difference for the kids?

Do you believe that kids who opted to wait another minute are exhibiting a strong indication for career success stories?

Delaying rewards is a cultural acquisition and not related to our genes behavior.

Credit card companies exploit our “must-have now” instinct and priced at high interest rates.

People are willing to pay extra if they don’t have to wait.

Amazon surcharge your purchase for the next-day delivery facility.

Hand a product to a customer and make him take it, and the client will most probably purchase it.

Suppose you have 2 groups of kids.

Group A is a sample of famished and poor kids.

Group B can eat anytime they want by simply opening a stuffed fridge.

You offer the 2 groups $20 if they can wait an hour before eating a chocolate bar.

Which group will be more likely to wait?

I bet group A will wait, even though they are terribly hungry and are salivating abundantly.

Those in group A who managed to wait for an hour are more likely to succeed in life, because they learned the value of money and saving money.