"While most techniques for fighting off errant impulses focus on reducing our emotional attraction to the reward ... this new research suggests that an even more effective approach involves activating vivid, episodic associations about future events. In other words, before we decide whether or not to make a big purchase, or take out a mortgage, or make a donation to a 401(k), or contemplate a policy devoted to climate change, we should spend a few minutes thinking about what we're doing tomorrow. Interestingly, these associations don't need to have any connection to the decision in question - it's enough to simply contemplate the future. One possible explanation for this effect is that activating our "future-oriented processing" helps make the future seem more tangible and real. As a result, we're better able to shrug off the visceral emotional pull of immediate rewards. We can't always get what we want, but if we think about the future first, sometimes we can get what we need." - Fred Yankowski