Outrunning the Hedonic Treadmill
I remember back in the prime of college admissions season all I could think about was finally able to be done, to be able to bask in the infamous stress free hue of second semester senior year. But, for whatever reason, my measurable stress level, at least from my perspective, hasn’t changed much. From when I was juggling 4 or 5 essays I needed to finish by the end of the week, to now, only having a few assignments and emails burdening my planner, I feel more or less the same.
According to psychologists, this phenomenon is called “Hedonic Adaptation” or “The Hedonic Treadmill”. The most common example is after a person wins a lottery. At first, the person is ecstatic to become a millionaire overnight. Over several weeks or months, however, the new millionaire becomes used to his or her lifestyle change and suffers a subsequent drop in satisfaction. I kind of think of it as emotional homeostasis. Of course, there are two sides to this kind of thing as the hedonic treadmill runs in the opposite direction as well—where people frequently revert to earlier stages of well-being after they have initially been hit. In other words, resilience.
As someone who is majorly motivated by milestones or goals I feel like I react especially taken aback when I end up reaching one of those milestones and finding myself somehow unsatisfied. On the hedonic treadmill there is a set point, and then there are crests and troughs that one’s emotions fluctuate between. Meaning, for a lot of people (myself included) getting straight A’s finding a girlfriend or boyfriend, or getting into their dream college is irrelevant to their overall and long term happiness.
So, how does one retain happiness? Well, I feel like a better question would be how does one slow the adaptation process? When I look back on my own life, I realize that my most memorable milestones aren’t necessarily the ones that had the greatest net impact on my life. For me, there have been two factors which determine what events have generated the most lasting effect in my emotional state: variety and appreciation.
Variety, as we all know, is the spice of life. But it’s also an effective anti-adaptation tool, so we don’t get used to good events when our interactions are new or unpredictable. If, on the other hand, a good experience is repetitive—when you know exactly what to expect—you don’t get the same kick out of it(think diminishing marginal utility if you’ve taken Micro).
The second tool, gratitude, is in many ways the reverse of adaptation—going out of the way to reflect on something, rather than taking it for granted or allowing it to slip into the background. Appreciating can mean paying attention or remembering, but it is much more powerful when you take it further—when you eat anything, rejoice in its quality and relish how it makes you smile, or when you experience happiness, feel grateful to be in your present circumstances relative to others or compared to where you have been in the past.
Novelty and variation are daunting because they need us to interrupt the routine. The routines are easy. It’s hard to try new things. But boredom is heavy. It can cause us to take for granted the valuable things we have in our lives. But, of course, this can still be matched by daily appreciation sessions because a parade of thrilling experiences may not always be enough.
Obviously, I am no guru when it comes to happiness, but in my own experience I’ve found that the more I think about these types of the things, the better I am able to make a real change in the way I think and feel.
Hi Ethas, this was an insightful post and unintentionally really made me reflect on my life where I was able to both find gratitude for all that I’ve been through and also see the validity of Hedonic Adaptation. I think burnout in youth sports is a particularly apparent example of Hedonic Adaptation’s destructive nature, where from a very young age kids are wired to chase an almost endless ladder of goals and soon they reach an age where they’re more emotionally mature they realize how the highs don’t bring the spark that they once did. I’ve sometimes been described as a robot due to my affinity for routine running the risk of burnout and unsatisfactory so I will be sure to practice gratitude and variety throughout my life in the hopes of elevating my base level of happiness.
Hi Ethan,
This was a really interesting blog to read, as someone who also struggles with the maintenance of my happiness. Often times, in happy moments, I find myself longing, aching even, for that feeling once again when it’s over. Your blog has given me a new perspective on this; if I was to be happy all the time, then I would never be happy. I think what you said about variety is also important. While variety, in all aspects of life, is important to one’s happiness, I also think finding hobbies and reliable therapeutic activities for one to perform can stagnate the Hedonic Treadmill.
Hi Ethan,
I really enjoyed reading your blog, it was really well written and very relatable. I took AP psyc last year and we talked about this a lot, but I sort of forgot about it until now. That said, after going through the college application process I totally agree. I kept thinking that once I got through all the hecticness of writing the essays and trying to get everything in on time I would feel so much better, but now I just feel overwhelmed getting a few homework assignments. I think the same is sort of true about the pandemic in general. When I think back to how much I did before, with six classes a day and sports, to now having half of that and no sports I am really surprised I still feel pretty much the same. I think you are right though trying to slow down and enjoy the moment rather than rushing through can definitely help.