Tag: hedonic treadmill
8 posts tagged "hedonic treadmill".
The tendency to return to a stable baseline of happiness after good or bad events, so that raises, purchases, and windfalls deliver far less lasting joy than we expect. Closely tied to affective forecasting and the research of Daniel Gilbert, it is the blog's standard rejoinder to consumerism and a case for minimalism and frugality. Because adaptation erodes the payoff from rising income, the treadmill reframes the pursuit of happiness around experiences, relationships, and meaning rather than ever-more stuff.
Posts:
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Happiness is a Greased Pig Chase
Happiness is a greased pig chase: the harder you grab at it, the more it squirms away. Here's what the happiness research gets wrong about the good life.
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Getting to 'Good Enough'
Time for some Reverse Life Coaching: a shared ambition to become less ambitious. Here's the plan for reaching 'good enough' (and staying there).
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Same Salad, Different Day
If you wear the same outfit over and over, nothing bad happens. Maybe you don’t get invited to Fashion Week. But what if you eat the same food every day?
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The Best Things in Life Really Are Free
Free and cheap activities are just as fun as their spendy alternatives, and might even accidentally make you a better human being in the process.
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Getting Rid of All Your Stuff Feels Like Taking a Big, Dreamy Dump
See also: Rasping dead skin off your feet, taking a tactical spew during a big night out, or achieving inbox zero. It's the same sort of deep satisfaction.
Also mentioned in:
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Better to Reign in Hell Than Serve in Heaven
‘Better to rule in hell than serve in heaven’ is the unofficial motto of freelancers and entrepreneurs. But escaping the tyranny of work comes at a price. Is it worth it?
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The Brave New World of Wireheading
The proverbial drunk searches for his keys under the streetlight, despite having lost them out in the darkness.
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The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up is Utterly Deranged, and I Love It
Marie Kondo—queen of decluttering, bestselling author, empire-builder—hears voices in her head.
