Future Orientation

What is Future Orientation?

Future orientation concerns how people think about, anticipate, and plan for later events. Being future-oriented means giving those later possibilities attention when considering what to do now. Related measures examine different features, including consideration of future consequences, perceived opportunities, and how much time seems available. These are not necessarily the same trait.

What does the research show?

Kooij and colleagues (2018) reviewed future time perspective and synthesized 212 studies. They found associations with outcomes involving achievement, wellbeing, health and risk behavior, and retirement planning. The measure and dimension used affected the relationships.

Why it matters

Such associations do not show that thinking further ahead always causes better outcomes or that a goal-setting exercise will produce them. Immediate needs and constraints can make a short-term priority reasonable. A person saving for a distant goal and someone wondering how much working life remains are both thinking about the future, but in different ways. Be clear about which aspect matters before using a score or designing support.