Are people happier by changing their environments?
A new job, a different car, moving countries, maybe a more receptive spouse, a better behaved kid or investments that grow at 14%?
For the longest time I assumed so too.
Asked myself pointless questions – should I have done an MS instead of an MBA? Should we try living out of a different city? et all
It honestly doesn’t matter.
People who win the coveted lottery prize experience high levels of happiness at the time. … The influx of happiness can last about a year but will recede gradually to the normal sense of happiness and well-being
It is called hedonic adaptation. [Adding the link to the paper in comments]
Once you have your basic needs met, humans tends to return to their baseline happiness post the initial spike of positivity/negativity.
Adam Grant talks about this in his latest book, Think again – where he cites the example of a student trying to move colleges with the hope that a ‘different college might make her happier’.
I have been listening to the Daily Gita podcast by Neil Bhatt
He talks about how all experiences are impermanent [ Chapter 2, verse 16] – ‘I have sorrow, but I am not sorrowful’.
So whether you follow science or spirituality, be mindful of whether you are constantly chasing rainbows.
Have you noticed instances of hedonic treadmill?
#hedonicadaptation
Resources :
Paper: http://sonjalyubomirsky.com/files/2012/09/Lyubomirsky-2011.pdf
Book : The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want
Podcast : Gita for Daily Living : https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/gita-for-daily-living/id584092091