Ari Wallach: Create Your Ideal Future Using Science-Based Protocols

Mental Time Travel

Ari Wallach and Andrew Huberman explore the concept of mental time travel, a unique human ability to project into the future using past experiences. Ari explains that this capability, rooted in the hippocampus, allows us to envision different scenarios and collaborate towards desired outcomes, a skill that has been crucial since our ancestors roamed the Serengeti 1. However, modern technology and society have shortened our temporal horizons, making it challenging to think long-term 2. Andrew highlights the importance of expanding our time perception, which can contract under stress, limiting our ability to plan for the future 3.

We're now training ourselves no longer to think about the far future. But to actually think about the immediate present.

--- Ari Wallach

This shift towards presentism, as Ari calls it, complicates our ability to make decisions that benefit future generations.

   

Emotions & Future Vision

Emotions play a pivotal role in shaping our vision of the future and guiding our actions. Andrew Huberman discusses the concept of using emotions as a kedge anchor, where emotions precede action steps, leading to a desired future state 4. He references Martha Beck's "perfect day exercise," which involves visualizing ideal and challenging scenarios to uncover personal aspirations 4. Ari Wallach adds that writing letters to one's future self can help visualize and plan for future success, emphasizing the importance of connecting with future generations 5.

Emotions are there to guide future action. So if we can have prosocial emotions, awe and empathy and compassion, and this one we call love, as what we're connected to, the future generations, that we want to see, how we want to see them flourish, we are much more likely to see that happen.

--- Ari Wallach

This emotional connection is crucial for creating a roadmap to a flourishing future.

   

Cathedral Thinking

Cathedral Thinking is a mindset that encourages long-term planning beyond one's lifetime. Ari Wallach shares a story from the Talmud about planting a carob tree, symbolizing actions taken for future generations 6. This philosophy, akin to building cathedrals that take centuries to complete, emphasizes the importance of legacy over immediate recognition 7. Andrew Huberman notes that in science and society, the focus on short-term rewards often overshadows the broader legacy we leave behind 7.

It's doing things whose fruits you will not be around to take advantage of, to reap, and to have as part of your life.

--- Ari Wallach

This approach fosters a sense of purpose and connection to something larger than oneself, essential for societal progress.