We Are All Stuck On The Hedonic Treadmill

Psychologically speaking, the Hedonic Treadmill is a concept that explains people’s tendency to return to a general baseline level of happiness despite life’s great ups and downs. While some of us hopeless romantics might identify as hedonists, meaning that the longing for pleasure (and avoidance of pain) is the greatest motivating factor in a person’s life, the Hedonic Treadmill shows that that might not even be relevant.

The best way I could explain this is through modern consumerism. So much of our lives now, and especially our lives online, is controlled by the desire for the next best thing. Every few weeks there’s something else being shown to us that will make our lives better. Or easier, more comfortable, or more aesthetically pleasing.

It’s a decades-old marketing and advertising strategy that’s still being used because, clearly, it works. The greatest way to make money is to think of any problem and come up with a way to solve it — then sell the solution.

Of course, no one thing can really fix all of our problems. Whether it’s a tangible object, fleeting emotion, or even a spiritual concept, there is no cure-all.

It could apply to anything — if a stranger on the street compliments you, most likely the joy caused by that interaction will fade by the next day. Or if you’ve had your eyes on something for months and you finally save up enough to get it, eventually you get used to it and it just becomes another part of your life.

I catch myself on the Hedonic Treadmill all the time. “If I get this, then this handful of problems will go away.” Or, “Once I finish unpacking, the universe will reward me with a new job.” Or even, “If I keep a gratitude journal, nothing in life will get me down.”

The truth is, if it isn’t already clear to you, there will always be problems. If you get a new, high-paying job, then money might not be a concern — but there’s no way of knowing what new stressors you could end up dealing with.

Even people that win the lottery tend to return to their usual level of happiness once the magic and excitement have worn off. Even when something like that changes your life, your brain knows how to adapt and grow accustomed to it.

As I mentioned earlier, the Hedonic Treadmill also applies to the low moments of life too. Like how, eventually, the grieving process ends after losing a loved one. Or how people can return to their lives and continue dating after a breakup.

And while this can sound like a bad thing, I don’t think it is. Think of it like an emotional survival tactic. When the excitement of a new stimulus wears off, there are endless opportunities to find that joy again. Someone complimenting your outfit at work can make your day, and it can make your day again a week from now. Getting a new haircut can make you feel confident and refreshed, and by the time you’re ready for your next haircut that moment can feel brand new again.

With all that being said, the Hedonic Treadmill isn’t always a great place to be.

I know that my experience with the Hedonic Treadmill stems from a need to control. To a degree, we can control our happiness with things and activities that we know bring us joy. But sometimes there just aren’t cures to a really bad day. Sometimes our brains just can’t produce enough serotonin to get over that hump. But even then, we tend to find ways to make our days (at the least) bearable.

Personally, if something happens to me that triggers a negative emotional response, I want to distract myself. Maybe that’s with watching a comfort movie or retail therapy. But at the end of it all, the emotions are still there.

As humans in the modern world, we like immediate results. We like the instant gratification and dopamine boosts of social media and online shopping and fast WiFi. And because it seems like there’s always something better out there, we want it to give us that emotional high.

But if you take away all of that external stimuli, and you’re left with your internal level of happiness, where would you be? Without things to look forward to and keep yourself going, would you be able to live only for yourself?

The big lesson here is this: genuine happiness and gratification come from yourself. While we can all attempt to control our levels of happiness, your emotional baseline is where you spend most of your time.

Relying on yourself for little moments of joy, and trying to let go of the “grass is always greener” mentality, is the easiest way to cut those harmful ties to the Hedonic Treadmill.