How your future self can help you in the here-and-now
Esther Mertens
Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law; Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement
Ever put off a to-do list, fired off a regrettable email, or impulse-bought something you did not need? We have all been there. But your future self might be able to help you with this.
Why we make short-sighted decisions
Our behavior comes from decisions we make based on weighing what feels good now and what is better for us later. Do you grab the last donut or stick to your health goals? Stay up binge-watching or get a good night’s sleep for tomorrow’s meeting? You can think of this as weighing the wishes of your present self with those of yourself in the future. When taking the long-term consequences into account, it generally becomes easier to make choices that do not benefit you immediately (or refrain from things you want to do), but do provide benefits in the future. However, some people are more directed towards the present, focusing on immediate rewards while brushing off future costs. They often choose for quick results and immediate benefits, ignoring the more remote – and often more severe – costs (e.g., Rutchick et al., 2018). That is when self-defeating behaviors, like substance use, gambling, or procrastination, creep in. In terms of the philosopher Parfit, their attitude towards their future self is in some ways like their attitude towards other people. But what if… you could meet your future self? Would that change anything?
The power of connecting with your future self
Research suggests it might. Studies on decision-making over time (known as intertemporal decision making) have shown that people tend to make short-sighted decisions when they do not feel connected to their future self. When feeling disconnected, discounting your future needs may feel as rational as disregarding the needs of a stranger (Frederick et al., 2002). Strengthening the connection with the future self may motivate people to prioritize the future over the present, and thus nudge them towards choices that benefit them in the future (Hershfield, 2018).
That is exactly what the FutureU project, led by Prof. dr. dr. Van Gelder, aims to do. We tap into this mechanism of connecting with the future self in order to stimulate people’s future-oriented behavior and reduce self-defeating behavior. In other words, FutureU is a tech-based intervention designed to help people think about their future self and make decisions today that their future selves will thank them for.
So, what is the FutureU intervention?
The FutureU intervention give people the chance to ‘meet’ their future self. Through meeting this self, the intervention aims to strengthen people’s connection with their future self in order to stimulate future orientation and reduce self-defeating behavior (Mertens, Van der Schalk et al., 2022; Mertens, Siezenga et al., 2022). The intervention consists of three modules:
- Module 1: People are encouraged to think about themselves ten years from now and form a vivid mental image of this future self. Where does your future self live and work? What is this self good at? What is its personality? What has changed and what remained the same?
- Module 2: The focus is on taking the perspective of the future self. This perspective can help people to look at own challenges from a distance, which makes it easier to find a solution or give advice. After all, it is generally easier to solve other people’s problems than your own. What are you currently struggling with? What advice would your older and wiser future self give you?
- Module 3: People are guided through the process of setting concrete goals, identifying potential obstacles, and making plans to overcome these obstacles to help them achieve their goals. Again, the future self-perspective is used. People imagine they are their future self who achieved the goal. How does it feel to achieve this goal? What obstacles did you encounter along the way? How did you overcome these obstacles?
The FutureU intervention is delivered through a smartphone application (app) or immersive virtual reality (VR) to bring the future self to life. Both technologies make it possible to create an image of the future self and ‘really’ step into its shoes. People make a selfie to which we apply an aging-filter and create an image of the future self: The future self-avatar. As such, FutureU exposes people both mentally and visually to their future self.
FutureU app and VR
The two main features of the FutureU app are the app’s chatbot FI and the future self-interaction. The chatbot gives information, asks questions to trigger thinking about the future, and explains assignments. It also engages in small talk, makes jokes, and sends memes to keep things light and engaging. The future self-interaction starts with making a ‘connection’ with the future self to allow for communication. Then, the future self sends messages with information, requests (e.g. “Try to make a decision today from my perspective”), and guided episodic future thinking (e.g., “Imagine your graduation day.”). The app makes use of advantages specific to smartphones, such as sending push notifications, requesting (short) daily interactions, and interactive menus.
The main feature of the FutureU VR is a time portal where people meet and become their future self. They put on the VR-goggles and are transported to a room with a table and a time travel machine. There are two avatars: the present self-avatar and the future self-avatar. During the VR session, people alternate between the two avatars. As their present self they ask question to their future self. After ‘traveling through time’, they become their future self and answer their own questions. Hence, we make use of the advantages specific to VR by transporting people to a virtual environment as if they are truly there, transforming people into a virtual avatar as if that virtual body is their physical body, and create the impossible situation of talking to your future self.
Past, present and future: The story of the FutureU project
Past: Foundations and early development
The past of the FutureU project has multiple stages that were pivotal for the development of the FutureU intervention. We started with a series of experimental online studies to test whether thinking about your future self can actually change your behavior today. For example, we asked participants to describe a typical day of their 60-year old self and tested whether that changed their behavior. Next came the first versions of the FutureU app and VR. We began by testing the interactions as a paper version and refined the interactions. Then, programmers developed basic versions of the app and VR which we tested again and further refined. The functioning beta-versions of the app and VR were subsequently tested among experts and the target group.
Once the FutureU app and VR were ready, we put them to the test to see if these interventions could actually help people in the real world. The VR was tested among convicted offenders and showed that the VR experience increased the vividness with which people think about their future self and reduced some self-defeating behaviors a week later (Van Gelder et al., 2022). The app was tested in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) among first-year university students. That study showed a boost in how vividly students pictured their future selves, and some improvements in their future orientation and self-efficacy three months later. However, findings also showed that students’ commitment to their goals decreased right after the intervention (Mertens et al., 2024). So, we knew that there was still work to do.
Present: Ongoing developments and insights
Building on previous results and insights, we further improved the app and VR and tested both in an RCT among students. We are currently analyzing these data, and preliminary findings are encouraging. Early results suggest that students felt more connected to their future self and became more oriented towards the future. Moreover, preliminary results showed that vividness of the future self was a mediator of the intervention effect on future orientation, which is what we theorized.
In the meantime, we have embarked on a new development: an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven chatbot designed to act as your future self. One thing we noticed was that the illusion of talking to your future self was not always as persuasive as we hoped. Especially in the app, interactions with the future self were completely preprogrammed. This made it hard to tailor the experience to how individuals see their future, making it feel a little too scripted at times. We believe the power of FutureU is dependent on the extent to which people are persuaded they are actually talking to their future self. So now, we are developing a chatbot that uses information people shared about themselves to personalize messages and present a future self-chatbot in line with individual views on one’s future self.
Future: Ambitions and opportunities
Looking ahead, our main focus is on getting this AI chatbot up and running. We will test how well it works. Are there any bugs? Does it use the personal information? Do we need to add boundaries to what the chatbot is allowed to say? And we will check how believable the experience feels regarding the future self-illusion. Does the chatbot talk like you would? Does it sketch a life that could be your future life?
Further down the road, we plan to integrate the AI-driven future self into both the app and the VR. That might mean swapping out our current chatbot FI for the new AI version or replacing the future self-interaction. Creating a fully personalized VR experience where the AI-driven future self is used to personalize the script that guides the experience. Or maybe we can even create an experience where people can interact in real time with a hologram of their future self. With technological opportunities evolving so quickly, we are curious to find out what the future will bring this project.
Lessons learned
Building tech-based interventions is exciting, but it comes with challenges. We learned a few important challenges along the way:
- Only use technology when it is of added value. Developing tech-based interventions is time-consuming and expensive. It is therefore worth asking if the same effect can be achieved via conventional methods.
- Match features to typical use of that technology. If there is a mismatch between a feature and typical technology use, people are less likely to use it. To illustrate, people generally use their smartphones for short moments of time. Thus, interactions with features should be brief and easy.
- Test, test, test. Test and pilot developed features on aspects such as clarity, ease of use, and appeal. Ideally, you have quick cycles of development, testing, feedback, and iterations to keep things moving in the right direction.
To support people in future tech-adventures, we have written down some supporting guidelines in our DID-Guide (Mertens & Van Gelder, 2025).
Conclusion
Connecting with your future self could change the way you make decisions today. Whether you are procrastinating, picking up unhealthy habits, or simply struggling to stay motivated, a vivid image of your future self might help steer you in a positive direction. FutureU has the potential to help a diverse range of people make choices today that their future self will thank them for tomorrow. Because when you know where you are going, it is easier to start taking steps in that direction.
Preparing for the next EUSPR Conference (September 23-26, 2025 in Berlin)
Are you planning to participate in the next EUSPR Conference? If so, do you intend to present further details about your work?
Yes, I intend to present the preliminary results on the mediation by vividness of the future self of the intervention effect on future orientation
Is there anything specific you’re looking forward to at this year’s conference?
Not specifically, I look forward to meeting people again and get updated about the newest intervention approaches.
About the author
Esther Mertens is interested in unravelling the active “ingredients” of mental health and behavioral intervention programs, with a specific enthusiasm for technological applications within such programs. Her research interest for intervention programs and their components was evoked during her PhD project at Utrecht University.
After obtaining her PhD (2021), Mertens worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Leiden University on the FutureU project of Prof. Dr. Dr. Van Gelder (2021–2024). In this project, she specialized in intervention programs implemented via smartphone applications and Virtual Reality. She joined the MPI and NSCR in April 2024 as a postdoctoral researcher where she will continue her specialization in technology-based intervention programs addressing mental health and behavior.
You can contact her at esthermertens90[at]gmail.com for any enquiries
References
Frederick, S., Loewenstein, G., & O’Donoghue, T. (2002). Time discounting and time preference: A critical review. Journal of Economic Literature, 40(2), 351-401. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2698382
Hershfield, H. E. (2018). The self over time. Current Opinion in Psychology, 26(72), 72-75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.06.004
Mertens, E. C. A., Siezenga, A. M., Tettero, T., & Van Gelder, J.-L. (2022). A future orientation intervention delivered through a smartphone application and virtual reality: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. BMC Psychology, 10. Article number 315. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-022-01025-x
Mertens, E. C. A., Siezenga, A. M., Van der Schalk, J., & Van Gelder, J.-L. (2024). A novel smartphone-based intervention aimed at increasing future orientation via the future self: A pilot randomized controlled trial of a prototype application. Prevention Science, 25, 392-405. https://doi.org/10.1007s11121-023-01609-y
Mertens, E. C. A., Van der Schalk, J., Siezenga, A. M., & Van Gelder, J.-L. (2022). Stimulating a future-oriented mindset and goal attainment through a smartphone-based intervention: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Internet Interventions, 27. Article number 100509. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.invent.2022.100509
Mertens, E. C. A., & Van Gelder, J.-L. (2025). The DID-Guide: A guide to developing digital mental health interventions.Internet Interventions, 39. Article 100794. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.invent.2024.100794
Rutchick, A. M., Slepian, M. L., Reyes, M. O., Pleskus, L. N., & Hershfield, H. E. (2018). Future self-continuity is associated with improved health and increases exercise behavior. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 24(1), 72-80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xap0000153
Van Gelder, J.-L., Cornet, L. J. M., Zwalua, N. P., Mertens, E. C. A., & Van der Schalk, J. (2022). Interaction with the future self in Virtual Reality reduces self-defeating behavior in a sample of convicted offenders. Scientific Reports, 12. Article 2254. https://doi.rg/10.1038/s41598-022-06305-5
OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
EUSPR Early Careers Forum (May 12, 2025). How your future self can help you in the here-and-now. Preventing disease and ill health. Retrieved May 19, 2026 from https://doi.org/10.58079/13wlq

