One candy today… or two tomorrow? How Hyperbolic Discounting hijacks our choices

In the famous Stanford marshmallow experiment, many children chose one sweet now instead of two if they waited 15 minutes. That early test captured a truth we keep seeing: we overvalue the reward we can get now and undervalue a larger reward that comes later. Something called Hyperbolic Discounting in Behavioral Economics. That tendency has followed us through life.

Adolescents scroll social media instead of studying for their future. Adults charge purchases on credit cards, ignoring rising interest rates and failing to save. We tell ourselves “I’ll start tomorrow”, and tomorrow rarely looks as disciplined as the present moment.

Visiting a nursing home in my hometown, I felt awful. These people were living in hard conditions, only because they let their emotions and desires control them when they were younger. They did not save enough. They procrastinated, and here we go, they are on government support, not able to do anything themselves.

About those marshmallows, those who chose to wait did considerably better later in life, as measured by SAT scores, educational attainment, and body mass index. So, the right thing to choose is to resist and control yourself when needed.

The problem must be solved. Old age with comfort and independence is definitely better than a bar of chocolate or an easy dose of dopamine from social media at a young age. I have 2 proposals.

1. Schools and kindergartens must teach budgeting, compound interest, and, first of all, controlling children’s desires.
2. Companies should create retirement plans that auto-enroll employees to save for the future, so that even if the education does not work out, there will still be some guarantee for people.

Remember this: your brain isn’t weak, it is wired to chase that momentary emotional high. But here is the beautiful part: with awareness and intention, you can outsmart your own impulses and make tomorrow’s victory sweeter than today’s temptation.