Hedonic Treadmill: Revealing Why You Cannot Be Happy

The hedonic treadmill is the tendency of humans to return to a baseline level of happiness despite major positive or negative events. As a person makes more money, expectations and desires rise in tandem, which results in no permanent gain in happiness. It suggests that wealth has little to no effect on genuine happiness. Generally, humans have a happiness set point. When events occur, happiness ebbs and flows momentarily, only to recover back to the set point.

The idea of the treadmill comes from the meaningless chase of happiness: no matter how hard we try, we remain in the same place. For example, if we get a raise, we will initially be happier, and then habituate to the larger salary and return to our set point. Lottery winners experience the same phenomenon. They are initially shocked and their happiness spikes, only to trickle down with time back to their average level. This is true for positive—raises, lottery winnings, promotions—and negative—divorce, widowhood, becoming paralyzed—life events. Even traffic accident victims with spinal injuries bounce back after just a few months.

The hedonic treadmill explains why we are relatively stable creatures whose happiness does not fluctuate much long-term. This means we can bounce back relatively quickly after something bad happens, but it also means events that bring us a lot of joy are temporary. It has both benefits and drawbacks. The resilience helps us continue functioning after experiencing something awful. At the same time, it means we can become complacent to a quality of life that is not satisfying—like staying in a toxic relationship. It also makes it harder to maintain our long-term goals. Think: how rewarding is it to engage in a new workout routine first, only to become challenging once the motivation wanes.

Some researchers even suggest that only a tiny portion of our happiness is based on life circumstances. One-tenth of the pie, at most. The majority of it is under our control. Thus to be happy, we should try to approach happiness differently in lieu of just chasing the bigger dose. Our fundamental understanding of happiness and success needs to change, concentrating more on lasting joys than material items and specific milestones—gratifications, meaningful relationships, family, or passion projects. The key is that we do not mix short-term pleasure with long-term satisfaction.

Real life implications of the hedonic treadmill:

• Wealth: a person might receive a significant pay rise and initially feel ecstatic, only to return to their prior levels after a few weeks or months; showing the diminishing returns effect on happiness from accumulating wealth, and that shifting our focus from material gains to experiences and growth will have a longer lasting impact;

• Relationships: the honeymoon phase of a relationship feels exhilarating but fades as partners adapt to each other, highlighting how strong, long-term relationships are about continual nurture, not temporary intimacy and spikes in interpersonal satisfaction;

• Personal achievement: graduating from a prestigious school or getting a promotion provides a temporary boost, but over time, the achievement becomes normalized, and incremental improvements are what result in genuine, lasting fulfillment;

• Adversity: humans are remarkably resilient and adapt to even the hardest circumstances, so don’t overestimate how losing your job or failing an exam will affect your long-term satisfaction; negative emotions are temporary;

• Consumerism: a person might buy the latest smartphone and get a kick, but they will soon crave the next upgrade, and marketers exploit the treadmill by always introducing “new” and “better” products to tap into this tendency;

• Leisure: trying a new hobby or way to spend time is exciting at first, but loses its novelty over time, so maintain variety and challenge to keep leisure activities fulfilling.

How you might use the hedonic treadmill as a mental model: (1) shift your focus to intrinsic values, prioritizing relationships, personal growth, and purposeful activities over external rewards like money; (2) be grateful, regularly recognizing what you have, countering the treadmill by refocusing on the positives you can still appreciate; (3) diversify your sources, spreading your focus across domains like family, hobbies, crafts, career, and health; (4) accept and anticipate adaptation, understanding that the novelty of achievements or acquisitions will fade, and plan for ways that are more meaningful; (5) invest in experiences and not possessions, knowing that they create memories whereas material goods are temporary thrills; (6) break your routine to keep life engaging; (7) concentrate on long-term joy, prioritizing habits and choices that enhance your long-term well-being in lieu of providing immediate joy.

Thought-provoking quotes. “Happiness is not about getting everything you want, but about enjoying what you have.” emphasizes the role of gratitude in combating hedonic adaptation. “The pursuit of happiness is like running on a treadmill; you have to keep moving, you never truly arrive.” captures the essence of seeking without fulfillment perfectly. “Commitment is the antidote to the hedonic treadmill.” reminds us to find peace in simplicity and sufficiency, not only in abundance. Remember that the human organism hinges on adaptation. Shift your focus from external achievements to internal growth and experiences. Recognizing this mental model allows you to step off the treadmill and make progress towards genuine fulfillment.