Is being low-time preference oriented always a good thing?
As a general state of being, I'd certainly agree -- delaying gratification brings greater reward than instant gratification ever can.
But it does make me curious: what are the times in life where you want to be short-term oriented? When can it be potentially greater ROI to have a high time preference with things?
Entrepreneurship is the first that comes to mind for me; While inherently LTP in nature, entrepreneurs have to take plenty of calculated short-term risks. Delaying for a "better" long term solution just doesn't always work..
Have you ever held your breath, shut your eyes, and dove into high time preference behavior -- and it paid off?
When the end is nigh
where there is nothing left to delay
https://media.tenor.com/s1A5drOWhHMAAAAM/yoda-shocked.gif
On cheat day. Once and awhile you have to just skip leg day and go eat ice cream with your kids.
I never understood people who skip leg day.
You're skipping training like half of your muscles!
It's ok when you balance it out with a negative upper body action like eating ice cream. Practically like I trained my legs. Especially since I had to walk to get the ice cream.
Entrepreneurs rush to deliver something unscalable to determine what is worth scaling.
Is that high time preference or low preference? Or is it just sensible?
The difference here is that you're attempting to save time so measuring time preference over these situations is redundant or self-referential.
I'd say having high time preference is beneficial when it saves you more time than you'd otherwise lose by having low time preference.
Law of the farm - you can’t rush the harvest.
High time preference is like trying to beat nature… you may get away with it once but it’s not a good strategy long term.
Live your life, be happy. Do arbitrages in the smartest way possible. Do what make you and your family happier on the the long run. Don't overthink it. Keep it simple.
Sometimes you just have to make a decision right now. By delaying a decision you make the situation worse. E.g “Should I go to the hospital now or later?”
my short term preference is very simple: how many beers I have left in the fridge.
At war.
I think when it comes to lofty goals - I’m talking about bucket list-worthy ones - it’s not only preferable to have a high-time preference. In fact, it is necessary to work on achieving it for the long term because you need to wait for all the stars to be aligned or upgrade your skill set or make sure your finances are in order before you make the leap etc
When I was working my first job, I knew I wouldn’t stay in it for long because I had always wanted to live and work overseas. Specifically I wanted to join the Japan Exchange Teaching program as an Assistant language teacher because I was enamoured of Japanese culture. So in order to make this dream come true, I was in it for the long haul. Even when I quit my first job, I didn’t immediately sign up for this program. I started to learn Japanese so that I would be better prepared for life in the Land of the Rising Sun
If you are in a bar with Your best friend which You didn't see in person for 3 years
Everything is a trade off including doing nothing at all. The key is understanding what the trade off actually is.
To get married and make important decisions
I have 3 kids under 9
school holidays: fast food saved my sanity many times
if you can take your time do it.
Otherwise, sometimes life moves fast :)
when it comes to fashion…
I now ask: “do I need this new thing right now or can I survive with the clothes / shoes I already have”
When you have to defend yourself or your family, time to grab something and start swinging or hauling ass as fast as you can
When dealing with High Time Preference people.
By the time you finish discussing with them about how the topic (whatever they want to do right now) would be better if approached through a low time preference perspective. You could of just kept one's opinion to oneself, they would not be disgruntle, and both parties would have not wasted their time.
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This is the answer. Having traveled to some regions of the world with hyperinflation, it is the primary issue that the currency is constantly buying fewer economic goods necessary for basic survival
Yes unfortunately living with a low time preference is a great luxury in fiatville
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