When to Upgrade
When to Upgrade
Brickman & Campbell (1971) called this puzzle the Hedonic Treadmill: as a person experiences a positive emotional event, expectations and desires rise in tandem which cancels their net long-term impact, resulting in no permanent gain in happiness.
So no matter how hard one tries to gain in happiness, one will remain in the same place.
Can We Hack Hedonic Treadmills? — LessWrong
The baseline level may be identified at different points among individuals (such as neutral or positive), but is stubbornly stable within them.
The implication is disheartening. If no action durably lifts well-being, then our daily efforts seem to generate motion without progress.
Then I realized. They are not hacks to the treadmill; they are user manuals. They tell you how use the treadmill without wearing it down, not how to transcend it. For people living below their baseline, these strategies can restore functionality. But for those already running well, there may be no higher gear.
As humans, we’ll likely remain bound to our hedonic treadmills for a long time. Though if your own treadmill is intact, i.e. free from affective disorders or addiction and you are practicing fundamental well-being habits, you are already experiencing the highest sustainable average happiness humans can currently achieve. Maintenance, not optimisation, is the rational priority.
Cherish the plateau. For now, it is our summit.
Cherish the plateau. For now, it is our summit. This is a beautiful line. This whole post is relatable. In recent days, I’ve been writing and unraveling what is the next 40 years of my life going to be. It was a good reminder that hedonism cannot be a sustainable motivator.
#diminishingMarginalUtility #hedonicTreadmill #hedonism #Life #philosophy
The path from digital-age workaholism to mindful productivity is not about rejecting technology or ambition, but about cultivating a wiser, more balanced engagement.
#teknoetics #workaholism #mentalhealth #buddhism #hedonictreadmill
#madsuperstimuli - 🤔 »Videnskabsfolk tester fødevarerne på mennesker for at se, hvordan de reagerer i en hjernescanner. De vælger den variant, der får dem til at spise allermest. For hvis noget smager så godt som muligt, køber folk det igen. Men det skal heller ikke være mættende, for så går der kortere tid, før de køber nyt«.
#sundhed #kost #fødevarer #manipulation #sukker #fedt #salt #afhængighed #desensibilisering #HedonicTreadmill #kapitalisme #fedme #overvægt
https://www.berlingske.dk/aok/han-laerte-os-at-tandtraad-kan-forlaenge-livet-nu-er-ung-stjerneforsker-klar
In #toddler music class yesterday, my kiddo grabbed an exciting shaker and looked rapturous; saw mine and was covetous; took mine (now one in each hand) and was delighted; and very shortly after seemed vaguely dissatisfied.
As it’s recommended that you interact with kids at her pre-verbal stage by narrating and commenting on what you see them do, I began to teach her how her experience illustrated the concept of the #HedonicTreadmill
The other parents sometimes look at me strangely.