Treadmills, But Not The Healthy Kind

The first treadmills were introduced about 200 years ago as means to punish prisoners. With a treadmill, incarcerated individuals could be forced to suffer physically while the energy they generated would be used for things like grinding grain. We've come a long way since the early 1800's, but the fundamental function of treadmills is still to produce effort or strain, without actually going anywhere. Some people may still consider their treadmill a torture device, but the machine is largely redeemed. Today I'd like to talk about a different kind of treadmill; something called the hedonic treadmill.

Actual treadmills, while not initially appealing, if used consistently, will produce long-term benefits for the user. The hedonic treadmill is the opposite. It is inherently appealing, but in the long run it can be very damaging. To understand what I mean, we have to start by understanding where happiness comes from. There is robust research that has taught us that happiness comes from three primary sources. About 50% of your happiness is biological. Built into your DNA are directions that give you a baseline set-point for happiness. We all know someone with a high set-point, that seems to be happy and joyful all the time. And those with a low set-point become lawyers (I'm kidding, kind of). Another 40% of your happiness is generated by how you live your life. These are principle based life practices like generosity, kindness, faith, etc. And the final 10% of your happiness comes from your external circumstances. Things like, how much money you make, what kind of car you drive, and what your house is like. So, happiness is about 50% biological, about 40% life-practice, and about 10% circumstances.

Now, let's focus a little bit on that last 10%. Any change or improvement in that category, like getting a raise or a new car, will create a small, momentary increase in our happiness. And that feels really good. Then what happens, is that eventually, over time, that feeling wears off and return to our previous happiness set-point. However, because that little bump in happiness felt good, our body remember is and so attempt to recreate it by other external means. Except this time it takes a different or bigger improvement to feel the same thing. And this cycle of external gain followed by good feeling followed by let down and back to pursuit of external gain is what we call the hedonic treadmill. Hedonic just means, "pleasure based." As I mentioned before, those external gains feel really good for a short time. But that feeling wears off and we are left craving more and that craving can never but fully satisfied by those external rewards, hence the "treadmill."

There's good news though! There is a huge 40% chunk of happiness just waiting to be tapped into. In terms of happiness, how we live our lives matters far more than the external rewards we get. And the beauty of it is that as long as you continue a particular life practice, your happiness level will continue to increase. This 40% is immune to that treadmill effect. So, if you want to be happier, practice gratitude, forgive people, develop a faith practice, engage is meaningful relationships, create healthy boundaries, do something kind for someone else, and take care of your body. And stop worrying so much about the external rewards. I know that's hard, but I've found that those things will eventually take care of themselves.

One Small Way To Start:

• 2 or3 days a week, take five minutes and write down a few specific things that you're grateful for and why. They have to be true and they have to be specific. "Thankful for my family is too broad." You'll be surprised how quickly your brain starts to search the world for positive things.

Further Reading:

• The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor

• The Law of Happiness by Dr. Henry Cloud

• The Book of Joy by The Dalai Lama & The Archbishop Desmond Tutu