The Hedonic Treadmill
Hedonic adaptation is the tendency of humans to revert to a happiness baseline shortly after new positive or negative events.
It becomes a treadmill—the Hedonic Treadmill—a perpetual motion machine that keeps us running in search of the next thing.
We create this magical universe in our minds where that one next thing will be exactly what makes us permanently, sustainably happier.
We get to that next thing, appreciate it for a moment, and then turn our gaze to the next, next thing, with no marked improvement in our happiness.
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The hedonic treadmill
The hedonic treadmill is the tendency to quickly return to a relatively stable level of happiness after a major positive or negative event or life change.
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