8th June 2024
The hedonic treadmill is a metaphor for the human tendency to pursue one pleasure after another.
We are always on the Hedonic treadmill, which simply means that as a person makes more money, expectations and
desires rise in tandem, which results in no permanent gain in happiness.
Isn’t that ironic?
When we have X and we think it should be sufficient to live a happy life, we see others having 2X and think that is what would make us happier.
And then we raise the bar to 3x, 4x, and 10x and it becomes a never-ending process.
It goes without saying that this is a path to bankruptcy, personally if not financially. The more you stay on this
treadmill, the more it breaks you down. And thus, it pays to get off while you still can.
You don’t have to quit your job to get off the hedonic treadmill. You do that only when you stop to ask this question,
“How much is enough?”
The most powerful common denominator of happiness and how much is enough is simple:
“Having a strong sense of controlling one’s life is a more dependable predictor of positive feelings of wellbeing than any of the objective conditions of life we have considered”.
More than your salary, more than the size of your house, more than the prestige of your job, control over
doing what you want,
when you want to,
with the people you want to, is the broadest lifestyle variable that makes people happy.
The ability to do what you want, when you want, with who you want, for as long as you want, is priceless.
This weekend, take control over your life, do not get caught up in the hedonic treadmill, work on things that matter and stay blessed forever.