>So, one hour spent Really Happy, outweighs a year spent Just Happy, because that Really Happy is all received by your present self.
I find making decisions that end up along lines of this really, really difficult. The rational part of my brain knows very well which one should I choose, but it has really, really hard time arguing with that more... I don't know, primal? part of me.
I think it's really fascinating, how relatively weak our conscious self is in arguments with our short term desires.
There's something even more fascinating you can learn if you introspect on this topic during an experience with a dopaminergic compound (e.g. cocaine, Adderall.)
Exerting exactly this type of willpower (setting long-term goals before short-term rewards) is what "spends" dopamine in the brain. The more dopamine you have available, the longer-term you tend to plan. And when you run dry, you feel "restless" and want to do things "on a whim."
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In the face of this, it's really quite fascinating how meaningless a term like "willpower" becomes. Doing what you want-to-want to do basically comes down to:
A. having enough dopamine in the first place (children should really get checked for ADD/ADHD at about the same time get checked for nearsightedness),
and B. making pre-commitments with strong consequences for reneging (e.g., losing money you've bet; or making you look low-status to people you care about.)
I find making decisions that end up along lines of this really, really difficult. The rational part of my brain knows very well which one should I choose, but it has really, really hard time arguing with that more... I don't know, primal? part of me.
I think it's really fascinating, how relatively weak our conscious self is in arguments with our short term desires.