Rethinking wealth beyond the hedonic treadmill

Have you ever found yourself daydreaming about a life free from financial worries; perhaps after imagining a big lotto win? It’s a common fantasy fuelled by the belief that happiness directly correlates with our financial achievements – the salaries we earn, the assets we accumulate, and the size of our bank balances.

However, pursuing financial happiness often feels like running on a treadmill.  No matter our earnings, or accomplishments, satisfaction remains just out of reach.

Consider your first salary; it seemed adequate, even generous back then.  I remember blowing my first pay packet on a beautiful sheepskin rug.  I was very proud of my purchase, until Mum asked me for my first board payment, and I had spent it!

Fast forward to today and having reached what once seemed like an unimaginable income, the desire for more persists.  I know as my income grew, so did my desire for more things, the car (a convertible of course), jewellery, the sheepskin rug was a distant memory.  I was most definitely on the hedonic treadmill.

The concept of the hedonic treadmill suggests that despite our efforts to increase our income and accumulate wealth, our happiness levels tend to return to a baseline level over time.  The phenomenon occurs because we experience improvements in our financial situation, our desires and expectations also increase, leading to a perpetual cycle of striving for more without achieving lasting satisfaction.

How do you break free from the grip of the hedonic treadmill?

It’s crucial to shift our focus from external sources of validation, such as material possessions and financial achievements, to internal sources of fulfilment.  Here are some strategies to help you step off the hedonic treadmill and cultivate lasting happiness.

1. Practice mindfulness:
   Cultivate awareness of your thoughts, feelings, and behaviours without judgement.  Mindfulness allows you to appreciate the present moment and find contentment in the here and now, rather than constantly chasing future desires.
2. Cultivate gratitude:
   Regularly express gratitude for the blessings and good things in your life, no matter how small.  Gratitude shifts your focus from what you lack to what you have, fostering a sense of abundance.
3. Set meaningful goals:
   Instead of chasing material wealth or societal expectations, set goals that align with your values and passions.  Pursuing goals that are personally meaningful and fulfilling can provide a sense of purpose and satisfaction that transcends material wealth.
4. Focus on experiences:
   Invest your time and resources in experiences rather than material possessions.  Experiences such as travel, hobbies, and spending time with loved ones, have been shown to bring more lasting happiness than material goods
5. Practice Generosity:
   engage in acts of kindness and generosity towards others.  Giving back to your community or helping those in need not only brings joy to others but also fosters a sense of connection and purpose in your own lie.

Here’s a bonus tip.  Stop keeping up with the Jones’s, for all you know the Jones’s could be broke!

I’m not sure if it was a conscious decision to step off the hedonic treadmill.  There were a couple of life events forced me to rethink my life: My relationship ending and moving from a large house to a small flat really made me look long and hard at all the possessions I had acquired over the years and decide what was really important to me and leave behind what wasn’t.  As I made those decisions, it wasn’t the coffee machine, or juicer, it was the recipe book that I bought on a trip to Argentina, the 3d picture my daughter made for me in primary school.  Of course, I needed linen and crockery, but that was secondary to items that had memories attached to them.

My father passing away and watching my Mum grieve and clutch a photo of Dad, this was more precious to her than any of the other things they had acquired, and she would have happily traded them all to have him back.

In this stage of my journey, spending time with friends, sharing a meal in our homes means so much more than dining out in a high-end restaurant. I still love eating out, but it is more considered than a habit.

The best outcome for me since stepping off the hedonic treadmill is, the work that I do with my clients is so much more satisfying, my bank account is much healthier, and I am much happier.

By incorporating these practices into your life, you too can step off the hedonic treadmill and cultivate a deeper sense of happiness and fulfilment that goes beyond material wealth and external achievements.