+1: #1165 Eudaimonic Treadmills

You're listening to Optimize with Bryan Johnson. More wisdom in less time.

Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another Optimize plus one. Have you ever heard of hedonic treadmills? We talked about them briefly a few years ago in the context of this one, which we link to in this +1 on the science of hedonic adaptation. Basic idea we adapt to all the things we get in our lives. That shiny new car isn't so shiny a few months after we get it. Same thing with a new phone or TV or whatever. Sonia Lybomirsky is one of the world's leading researchers on the subject of hedonic adaptation. In the Myths of Happiness she tells us, I quote, indeed it turns out that we are prone to take for granted pretty much everything positive that happens to us when we move into a beautiful new loft with a grand view, when we partake of plastic surgery, when we purchase a fancy new automobile or nth generation smartphone, when we earn the corner office and a raise at work, when we become immersed in a new hobby, and even when we wed, we obtain an immediate boost of happiness from the improved situation. But the thrill only lasts for a short time. Over the coming days, weeks and months, we find our expectations ramping upward and we begin taking our new improved circumstances for granted. We are left with felicific stagnation or hedonic adaptation. So we adapt to the hedonic pleasures in our lives. It's like we're on a treadmill, moving faster and faster but not getting any further in our pursuit of true happiness. But here's some exciting news. All caps. There are no Eudaimonic treadmills. Hedonic Eudaimonic. No Eudaimonic treadmills. You know what happens when we joyfully commit to using everything as fuel for our growth while living with more wisdom plus self mastery plus courage plus love plus Hope plus Gratitude plus Curiosity plus zest we actually get happier. And that's today's plus one. Let's step off the hedonic treadmill and make some real progress in our lives as we focus on practicing our philosophy, high fiving our inner souls and flourishing today.

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Optimize with Brian Johnson. To find out more, go to Optimize Me.

Hey guys, this is Brian with a quick little P.S. i'm really excited to let you know about an event we're working on. Plan is to make it the premier self optimizing event of 2020. We're calling it Optimize 2020 you the Modern Hero. Basic idea. Five days, 101 world class luminaries, 1 million people. You can learn more and get your tickets to the online and offline event at Optimize Me 2020. Again, that's Optimize Me 2020. Hope to see you there.