Video summary
Dr. Mike Israetel presents a framework for decision-making based on categorizing current actions into two primary types: things one feels like doing and things one does not feel like doing. He argues that while this distinction may sound simplistic, it serves as a foundational tool to eliminate errors in understanding complex situations. By breaking down every potential action into these binary categories, individuals can avoid the deflection tactics often used by experts who claim everything is too nuanced or complicated. Instead of getting lost in complexity, one should apply a straightforward checklist: if an activity you desire does not harm your future self or others and there are no pressing obligations preventing it, then proceeding with that action is generally acceptable. When examining actions one dislikes doing, the critical question becomes whether they substantially enhance future outcomes for "future you." Israetel uses vivid examples to illustrate this choice between immediate gratification and long-term benefit, such as refusing a dangerous offer from gangsters because it would lead to jail or death later. He emphasizes that motivation is essentially about setting up a better world for one's future self; almost none of the current comforts we enjoy—like having a house, time off, or even substances like edible marijuana—are direct results of what we are doing in this exact moment. Rather, these rewards stem from actions taken previously that did not pay off immediately but yielded benefits later. The core concept driving this philosophy is that future you acts as the biggest ally and watches your current decisions through memory with either pride or regret. Israetel describes a scenario where past self performs hard work now so that future self can enjoy an easier life, effectively opening up a "time portal" to push back against difficulties later on. He notes that while younger individuals might struggle to accept this reality, understanding the second-order effects of current actions is crucial for building something sustainable before facing potential decline or terminal illness in old age. The goal is to ensure that when looking back from any point in the future, one can appreciate how previous efforts set up a favorable environment. Ultimately, Israetel concludes that living well today often depends on sacrifices made yesterday and hard work done earlier rather than current exertion alone. He encourages listeners to view their past actions as investments where the returns arrive much later, sometimes feeling like they come sooner than expected but still requiring patience during the buildup phase. By aligning present behavior with the needs of future self, individuals can avoid regret and ensure that their legacy is one of having "f***ed up" in a good way by setting themselves up for success. This approach transforms motivation from an abstract feeling into a concrete strategy where every decision is weighed against its impact on the timeline extending far beyond the present moment.
Read the full video transcript
There's two things you can be doing with
your time. Stuff that you want to be
doing right now, things you feel like
doing, and stuff that you don't want to
you don't feel like doing right now.
>> This sounds like elementary education,
kindergarten type of [ __ ] But I got to
tell you, Chris, there is a lot of stuff
that us internet guru people end up
saying that sounds remarkably
kindergarten-like
because um many of us, ourselves
included, me, you, all the other talking
heads are coming to realize pretty
regularly that focusing on very basic
rudimentary understandings
and eliminating mistakes from those
understandings
can build a foundation for real deep
insight that in retrospect seems obvious
as [ __ ]
>> but prospectively may seem confusing.
And so I love doing things like
splitting up every decision you could
choose to make into just two things. And
it seems dumb, but also you're like,
"Think through it a little bit more and
we'll talk through it a little bit
more." And it's like, "Oh, all right.
Well, that actually simplifies things
considerably because one thing I really
love and hate
is when especially experts say things
like, "Well, it's complicated. Well,
it's nuanced." Oh, I understand that,
but you got a PhD in the [ __ ] right?
So, why don't you tell me how it's
complicated and nuanced? And a lot of
the times they will, but some of the
times it's a deflection tactic to say
everything's so uh it's so uh things can
be simplified. It is possible to
simplify things. And the first
simplification we can make today is of
all of the things you could be doing in
this next very moment, they fall into
basically only two categories.
[ __ ] that you feel like doing and [ __ ]
you don't feel like doing. And then
those categories can further be
subdivided into just a few other
categories to really simplify it. So if
the [ __ ] you feel like doing, you can
ask the question of is it a good idea to
do? We just have like a few points of a
checklist to fill out to see if it's yes
or no. One thing is like do I have
anything pressing that I need to be
doing right now? Need to be doing right
now? Let's say the answer is no. Okay.
Does this thing that I want to do hurt
me and my future self in any way? Like I
want to I want to do crack right now.
Give me a [ __ ] rock, Chris.
Um, that's not good for me. It's going
to be bad. Is it going to hurt someone
else? No. Okay, fine. So, if it some I
don't need to be doing anything else.
the thing I'm going to be doing doesn't
hurt me in any way in the future and
it's not going to hurt anyone else. I
can probably do the thing. No problem.
Then if you look at the universe of
things that you have to be doing that,
okay, I don't want to do this, the real
question is okay, is there a compelling
reason that doing this thing you don't
want to do improves future outcomes for
future you? If the answer is no, well
then no. Like gangsters, you know, ride
up and they're like, "Hey, get in with
us. We're gonna go do a shooting." Or
whatever gangsters say like, "Well, gee
whiz, that sounds dangerous and socially
irresponsible." So you just like, "No
thanks, fellas, but hey, best of aim to
you." Oh boy. And then you just don't
get in the car cuz it's, you know,
future you doesn't want to live in jail
or shot to death. But if the thing you
don't want to do is a thing that
substantially enhances your future
outcomes,
you might want to consider doing that
thing even though you don't want to do
that thing now. So the ultimate
situation here in this whole construct
of motivation, inspiration, all that is
setting up a better world for yourself
in the future. Cuz like I live I'm
living pretty goddamn good right now if
I say so myself. And almost none of it
has to do with [ __ ] I'm doing right now.
And sometimes that confuses my brain.
I'll be sitting on Sunday and I'm high
on edible marijuana and I'm just
scrolling through the TV and I Jew brain
is like, "You're a piece of [ __ ] You're
useless.
>> You don't deserve any of these things
that you have like a house and a TV and
time to scroll and even edible marijuana
which you paid for with your own money,
I might add. You degenerate drug
addict." And then I'm like, "Well, how
the hell do I have all this stuff?" is
cuz I did [ __ ] earlier that didn't pay
off at the time, it paid off later. So,
with that whole decision tree I just
described, you can really easily choose
if you're going to just do [ __ ] you like
right now or if you're going to do some
[ __ ] now that you're not a big fan of
right now, but future you is going to be
like, "Bro, he's going to open up the
[ __ ] time portal. He's gonna push a
fist through that [ __ ] and he's gonna be
like, "Blast that [ __ ] big homie. And
you're gonna do this because you hooked
up future you. Future you is your
biggest ally. Period. Past you is
completely dead, by the way. Future you
is going to exist soon. And you're going
to want to be a future you that you look
back at all as many points as possible
in a future you world to be like damn
dude old me set the [ __ ] up good.
>> Yeah. Gwinder Bogle says your future
self is watching you through your
memories with whether it's with pride or
regret depends on what you do now.
>> Or in my case with like a physical out
like ooh I'm still with this guy. Uh
Jack Butcher, it's a beautiful day to
remember that the second order effect of
what you are doing now will arrive much
later.
>> So in uh that is fire quote.
>> Y
>> but however,
>> I will say this and you can probably
agree to this Chris cuz you and I are in
our later years now.
>> Yeah.
>> Um
>> vintage
>> vintage vintage Chris Williamson.
>> Um much later. Sure. [ __ ] feels like it
arrives really goddamn soon. Huh?
>> Right.
>> And um this is something that if you
deeply understand it, even believe on a
surface level can really help you as a
revelation. The younger you can accept
that reality the better.
>> Like um tomorrow you is someone you
really want to have like their back.
Short of like you're 95, you have a
terminal prostate cancer diagnosis. At
that point, if it's not hookers or
alcohol coming into my room, there's a
do not enter sign. But up until that
point, I kind of want to reserve at
least some fertile ground for the
future. And when you're younger and when
you're in your middle age and you're
really building something, you might
even consider that. And you know, if I
do a lot of stuff that I don't like
particularly want to do right now all
the time
>> and I do that now and I plow away for a
while, I might like end up in a world
later where future me has just got it
goddamn easy. And uh the living is good.
And then future you is going to be like,
"Dude, past me [ __ ] [ __ ] up." And then
if you're like me, you're like, "Oh,
there's still another future me in the
future future. better work even harder.
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