Would you rather jet off to the Bahamas next week, or save and go in a years’ time? In an ‘I want it now’ culture, thinking for the future is hard. When two-thirds of boomers retire they won’t have saved enough to maintain their lifestyle. How can brands encourage people to think about tomorrow, today?

You can’t move for being told how to be happy. It’s a choice, claims Coca-Cola in its Choose Happiness campaign. It’s the truth, croons Pharrell in Happy. We can redesign our lives to achieve it, says Paul Dolan inHappiness by Design.But what does ‘being happy’ mean, and how do we achieve it?

With the revival of meditation as a solution to the fast pace of the modern world, people are devoting more time to achieving equilibrium in their lives. But while 98% of Americans believe achieving and maintaining balance is important, only 14% report always feeling balanced.

Modern aspirations have hit a brick wall. As growing numbers realise that the things they were promised – a good job, beautiful home and pension plan – aren’t easily achieved, reality is kicking in for the West. Is the age of entitlement over?