The below is the text from Hell Yeah or No book. It gives a good mental model to reason how one live their life. I don’t think one has to entirely in one list or the other. You will be more aligned to one list than the other. Also, I don’t think one is better than the other.
Present-focused people
- Pursue pleasure, excitement, and novelty
- Focus on immediate gratification
- Especially appreciate life, nature, and the people around them
- Are playful, impulsive, and sensual
- Avoid anything boring, difficult, or repetitive
- Get fully immersed in the moment and lose track of time
- Are more likely to use drugs and alcohol
- Are better at helping others than helping themselves
Future-focused people
- Delay gratification
- Are driven with self-discipline because they vividly see their future goals
- Tend to live in their minds, picturing other selves, scenarios, and possible futures
- Especially love their work
- Exercise, invest, and go for preventative health exams
- Are better at helping themselves, but worse at helping others
- Are more likely to be successful in their careers, but often at the expense of personal relationships, which require a present focus
Shekhar Gulati 