Why is it so hard to plan for the future? Psychologist Hal Hershfield found that our brains perceive our future self as a separate person — with less urgent wants and needs than our present self.

DEAR AMY: I have a 22-year-old son who just graduated from an out-of-state university, which we paid for. Now that he’s back home, he tells us that to maximize his major (psychology), he will ...