Low Time Preference: Building for the Future

Many people get confused by the idea of low time preference. It is not intuitive at first. But once you get it, it changes how you see money, health, and even time itself.

High time preference = short-term focus.

Low time preference = long-term focus.

Eat the donut now? High time preference.

Go for a run instead? Low time preference.

Simple. But powerful.

This idea runs through every chapter of my book Future Proof. At its core, high time preference chases short-term comfort, while low time preference builds for the future. The real power comes when you see how it applies everywhere in life.

I grew up in Appalachia, where money was scarce and every dollar mattered. Babysitting, tutoring, waitressing, cashiering, and cleaning toilets eventually added up to the savings I needed for my first camera. That camera wasn’t just a purchase. It represented years of sacrifice and delayed gratification. It taught me that patience and consistency lead to freedom. That purchase changed my life, setting me on the path to filmmaking, traveling, and eventually discovering Bitcoin.

So when I bought Bitcoin in 2017 and saw my small investment triple in a few weeks, it felt surreal. It didn’t feel earned; it felt insane. Then, almost immediately, the price crashed. My gains evaporated. Headlines screamed about Ponzi schemes and bubbles bursting. The space felt chaotic and unreliable. Logic told me to sell and salvage whatever I could.

But a quieter voice, built from years of disciplined saving and the life-changing reward of that first camera, told me there was something bigger here. While I didn’t fully understand money yet, my early research had given me enough confidence in Bitcoin’s potential to hold on.

I chose to hold.

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More Than Money

Bitcoin taught me discipline, patience, and conviction. HODLing through volatility showed me that lasting value comes from consistency. Over time, that consistency compounds, growing purchasing power in a way short-term thinking never could. The lesson carried over into the rest of my life.

Low time preference began shaping everything I did:

• Health: Prioritizing sleep, training, and nutrition with the long view in mind.

• Habits: Pausing before a snack to ask if I was truly hungry or just bored.

• Fitness: Pushing through a run because I knew my future self would thank me.

• Spending: Saving in Bitcoin instead of wasting money on things that fade.

  
  

Small, intentional choices compound. Just like consistently stacking sats (small units of Bitcoin), they may look minimal in the moment but grow into freedom over time.

The Payoff

Deliberately delaying gratification actually gives you more time.

Every early bedtime, every workout, every intentional choice compounds over years. Each one helps you reclaim time that would otherwise be lost to fatigue, illness, or stress. You are not just adding years, you are improving the quality of those years. You are actively creating order from chaos and expanding the time you get to live with energy, vitality, and freedom.

Choosing With Intention

Low time preference doesn’t mean giving up fun or spontaneity. Some moments are worth the splurge.

But my baseline choices now have intention. They’re structured to build lasting health and freedom rather than erode them. I regularly ask myself: Will future Erin appreciate this decision? Will fifty years from now Erin thank me?

Viewing life through that lens changes everything.

The Long Game

We live in a world designed for convenience and instant gratification. Choosing to pause, even briefly, and act intentionally is rare. But those rare, intentional choices compound into life-changing results. It is not flashy. It is not always fun. But it works.

Bitcoin rewards those who delay gratification. So does your body.

Stack sats. Build habits that last. Lower your time preference. Take control of your future.

Low time preference is just one piece of the bigger picture. In Future Proof, I expand on resilience, mindset, proof of work, and the role of AI in future-proofing your life.

Paperback and Kindle: amzn.to/40uIl8Q

I self-published this book, so every review, share, and recommendation means a lot.