Savour life’s small pleasures instead of constantly searching for more, and forge a new path towards long-lasting fulfilment, writes Kellie Gillespie-Wright
Do you ever find yourself trapped in a perpetual cycle of desire and dissatisfaction, constantly chasing after the next big thing on the horizon, because you believe it will make your life better – only to find it makes no enduring difference?
It’s a cycle that can be exhausting and, ironically, deeply unsatisfying, and in the long term, can rob us of the joy available to us in this very moment – if we were just able to stop and appreciate it. This phenomenon, known as the hedonic treadmill, can leave us feeling exhausted, unfulfilled, and no happier than when we began our pursuit.
Our relentless quest for more – more money, more status, more things – can, paradoxically, lead us away from the very happiness we seek. The hedonic treadmill operates under the principle of hedonic adaptation, the idea that, no matter what happens to us, we tend to return to a personal baseline level of happiness. This adaptation can serve us well in times of adversity, allowing us to recover from hardship, but it also means that the positive effects of our achievements are short-lived.
‘In a nutshell, the hedonic treadmill theory states that we adapt fairly quickly both to positive or negative life events, and that our happiness levels eventually return to our initial set point,’ explains Dr Anna Katharina Schaffner, a burnout coach and author of The Art Of Self-Improvement (Yale University Press, £19.99). ‘What that means is that certain achievements, successes, or objects we may long for may not have the power to raise our wellbeing levels in the long term, because we become used to them. They become our new normal.’
That’s why, when we secure that promotion or buy the dream car, the joy we feel is temporary. We quickly get used to our new reality and start looking for the next step on the ladder.
For women, the pressures of the hedonic treadmill can be particularly intense. Society often imposes high standards regarding career success, family life, physical appearance, and social status. This relentless pursuit can contribute to chronic stress, anxiety, and a myriad of other health issues. Understanding and acknowledging the effects of the hedonic treadmill is the first step towards mitigating its impact on our lives – starting with why it happens.
‘Psychologists argue about this question a lot,’ says Schaffner. ‘One theory is that when we are exposed to a particular stimuli over time, we cease to note them. That can be both good or bad ones. A new car or handbag, for example, is something that may generate positive emotions but, eventually, we just get used to them.’
‘At a deeper level, we could say that we often look for happiness in the
