The endless treadmill
The Hedonic Treadmill is the idea that an individual’s level of happiness relatively remains unchanged in response to positive or negative life events. Philip Brickman and Donald T. Campbell were the first to coin this term in 1971.
The process by which positive or negative effects on happiness fade over time is called hedonic adaptation—aka, your mind becomes used to the ‘dopamine hits’.
This could manifest in many different forms in our day-to-day life. The most common ones include:
- After moving to a new house, you highly appreciate all the little details. After a few months, you get used to what you once thought was your dream house.
- Post-breakup, especially from a long-term relationship, you feel like the world is falling apart. Eventually, your level of happiness will return closer to its default.
- Starting a new project at work will bring you a new, shiny sense of purpose. After weeks of working on it, you might lose that spark and start seeing it as a burden.
Similar to a treadmill, no matter how hard one tries—or how much one consumes, to gain an increase in happiness, one will remain in the same place. As bleak as it sounds, there are actually ways you can do to turn it around!
Learn more about how the Hedonic Treadmill works in the full article here.
The happiness set-point
Believe it or not, humans generally maintain a constant level of happiness throughout their lives, despite events that occur in their environment. This constant or default level is also called a “happiness set point”.
Researchers have long tried to find ways on how we as humans could maintain a good “happiness set point”. In 2005, Lyubomirsky, Sheldon, and Schkade came up with the Hedonic Adaptation Prevention (HAP) Model:
- The HAP Model suggest that intentional efforts to prevent hedonic adaptation can prolong the positive effects of life events.
- Three primary components influence our “happiness set point”:
- Genetic predispositions
Some of us naturally possess a more positive disposition, making us less prone to hedonic adaptation. - Intentional activities
By regularly introducing new experiences and diversifying activities, we can maintain a heightened level of happiness and prevent hedonic adaptation. - Circumstantial factors
Actively seeking to shape our circumstances such as environmental conditions and social relationships will help prevent hedonic adaptation.
- Genetic predispositions
Though we can only control 2 out of the 3 components above, probabilities are still very much high for us to avoid the curse of the Hedonic Treadmill.
Read more about the Happiness Set Point and whether it can change overtime here.
The escape plan
A strategy is needed to escape and break through from the Hedonic Treadmill, which a lot of us may be prone to getting trapped in.
According to recent research, humans may be able to choose behaviors and activities that can influence as much as 40 percent of their sense of well-being. Here are some of the go-to habits you can implement:
- Invest in relationships
It does not mean you have to have an enormous amount of people in your trusted circle, but rather enhance the quality of time you spend in social engagement.Research says: the happiest people are those who have built supportive relationships, and who live in cultures where there are well-developed social resources to rely on. - Acts of selfless service
Happiness is more likely to fluctuate if it comes from self-centered pursuits, as opposed to the pleasure that comes from doing something selfless.Research says: engaging in pro-social acts of service may help increase your capacity for long-term happiness. - Hedonic/simple pleasures
While on paper it’s easy to separate hedonic pleasures from higher satisfactions, in your brain the two interact.Research says: the inability to enjoy simple, hedonic pleasures is one of the markers of a number of serious mental health conditions. - Practice mindfulness
Intentional breathing can ground you in the present moment by helping you pay careful attention to what’s happening around you and in your body.Research says: among people with chronic pain, mindfulness increased the capacity for hedonic happiness. - Express gratitude
It’s also possible to slow down hedonic adaptation by continuing to reflect on and appreciate the events and circumstances that changed your life.Research says: intentionally expressing thanks for a positive experience is linked to an enlarged capacity for happiness.
Find more ways you can try and incorporate into your daily life to maintain gratefulness and avoid the hedonic trap in the full piece on Monday Mavens.
