The Hedonic Treadmill & The Tyranny of Convenience
Have you already checked out, just after reading that title?
It's fine. I wouldn't want to INCONVENIENCE YOU with my garbled internal musings anyhow.
(But really though.)
In psychology, the notion of the hedonic treadmill refers to the general human response of adapting to a plateau of relatively stable happiness/enjoyment after significant life changes, both positive and negative. Like the never-ending nature of mechanized machine cardio, we're running on an endless loop, constantly having to work to maintain that same level of happiness, even as our external circumstances fluctuate. Aka, we habituate.
You get a raise or a bonus at work, and while initially those extra funds are an added boon, you acclimate to your new budget and your life continues on much as it was before.
Good things happen, and your expectations and desires increase in tandem, without any significant overall happiness gained. Maybe you're able to travel more or buy fancy trench coats after getting this promotion, but does your day-to-day level of happiness improve all that drastically?
Maybe bad things happen too, hiccups in your life plan, but somehow, after an eviscerating break up or the death of a loved one or a debilitating injury or a job loss, you continue moving forward and life somehow reassembles itself around you eventually.
Think of it as a sinusoidal wave. The peaks are the good things that happen to you, the troughs are the setbacks, and midway between them is your base level of happiness. Experiences like parenthood and romantic relationships amplify the wave, but that baseline remains ever-present.
And this is where convenience, or the tyranny of it comes in. While convenience aims to simplify our lives, doesn't it just end up acclimatizing us so that CONVENIENCE becomes our new baseline, and anything less than that efficiency we've grown accustomed to is irritating and disruptive?
I remember having a Nokia phone, and being so excited to finallyyy be able to text.
I remember the days of dial-up internet, and relishing what time I had to hop online and check Myspace once a day after school.
I remember having to hook up my laptop to ethernet cords in my dorm room because our on-campus college housing didn't have wifi.
Those things were fine, because that's where technology was at the time, and that's what we were accustomed to. That was our baseline.
Heck, up until six months ago, I had a freaking DELL laptop, for crying out loud. I had no idea what I was missing out on before I came to my senses and bought a MacBook.
But now I have a smart phone and wifi and instant streaming. I can get internet on my TV. I can carry my iPad mini around while I do the dishes so I can be constantly entertained, even during the monotony of household chores. I can order a book on Amazon Prime and have it delivered in two days, or no wait, tomorrow! Better yet, I can order the Kindle version and download it immediately. Instead of shlepping myself all the way to the movie theater, I'll just wait until the movie comes to Netflix or Amazon and stream it at my house. Thanks to Amazon Fresh, I don't even have to do my grocery shopping. I have someone else do it and bring all my food to me so I don't have to get dressed or leave my bed. I can have my meals delivered to me through Seamless or Postmates or whatever app the kids are using these days.
Yes, technology is amazing, yes it makes things so efficient, and yes, it makes everything convenient for ME, The User, The Consumer. Everything is and should be about me.
And, well, will you look at that. That's my new baseline.
When I don't have cell service in the basement of the library or when my internet buffers or when there's not a new episode on Hulu to watch or the item I want to buy doesn't qualify for prime shipping, what a terrible inconvenience. UGH.
So hard, so annoying, so inconvenient.
Me do my own shopping?
My own cooking?
Wait in an actual line?
Wait more than two days for something I bought on the internet?
Girl, please.
And this is where I circle back.
I've realized, both in the actions, attitudes, and thoughts I see in myself and sometimes in others, that there develops this unrealistic expectation for our lives where, instead of that baseline remaining flat, it gradually starts increasing. At first it's just a small imperceptible rise, but the growing difference in perspective quickly adds up. Over time, we become desensitized and we lose our capacity to be grateful and appreciative of the small positive things in our life because we have to run even harder, uphill, against that ever-mounting incline to reach that same stasis and a comparable level of contentment.
I'm too inconvenienced that this party doesn't have the type of tortillas I like to appreciate this free catered meal from a really nice restaurant. UGH.
I'm too inconvenienced by the lack of right-hand turning lanes in this neighborhood to appreciate having my own car that I didn't have to pay for. UGH.
I'm too inconvenienced that the technician got nail polish on my cuticles to appreciate that she just spent the last twenty minutes scraping the dead skin off my feet. UGH.
I know, I know, these are the laments of a #basicwhitegirl and #firstworldproblems, but do you see what I'm getting at? Don't you know what it's like to be around these people who aren't ever satisfied?
I have, and I know that from time to time, I've been one and I am one.
Which is why I'm starting to look for ways that a little inconvenience can better help me to appreciate and to be grateful, and to reorient my baseline.
Cooking isn't always convenient, but I like knowing exactly what goes into my food and it saves me money.
Baking from scratch isn't always convenient, but I enjoy the process and oftentimes my desserts taste better than if they were pre-made.
Walking to class isn't as convenient as taking the shuttle to campus, but I enjoy being outside and moving my body.
Sewing my own clothes is DEFINITELY not as convenient as shopping, but again, I enjoy the creative process and having custom clothes made to fit me.
So I guess what I'm getting after is that maybe a little inconvenience isn't the worst thing that could happen to you. Because really, it's not all about you anyhow.
Just proving the mantra that happiness isn't found, it's made. Those who are searching for it, will forever be doing just that, searching.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post. I don't know if I agree with the idea of a hedonic treadmill... you say no matter what improvements we see in our life, our baselevel happiness would remain the same? But that's assuming our life is in a constant state of improvement, as it should be. What if you didn't improve? What if you were in a certain spot when you are 25, and then you are in the same spot when are you 35? Wouldn't your happiness be less? Don't you REQUIRE constant growth and improvement JUST to maintain your happiness?
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's the way we are built - never to be content with stagnation - always to strive for growth and improvement. Never rest on your laurels. Never be happy with where you are. It's what has led to revolutions and counter-revolutions. It's what has led to every technological advancement and scientific breakthrough. Never be satisfied. Never be content. Always be growing and changing. Always looking for what can be improved.
And on the flip side - if we have a significant terrible thing happen, you say our baseline happiness would remain the same - to acclimate to our worsened state? Hmmm, I don't know about that... Aren't there many people out there who suffer the loss of a loved one and never recover? People that are sad and angry for the rest of their lives after some terrible event? But once again, interesting post!
PS I wasn't able to finish that article you referenced. Too wordy!
When I'm referring to a baseline of happiness, I mean that even when good and bad things happen, our lives return to some kind of stasis. I believe it's possible for there to be sustained contentment without things constantly improving, but that doesn't mean that the desire for progress isn't there. Still, when I talk about returning to that baseline of happiness, maybe referring to it AS happiness is misleading. Even if you're disgruntled with your life situation at 35 because you haven't made the life choices and changes you wished you had when you were younger, wouldn't that place you were existing in, that frustration, become your new stasis? The term happiness to describe your baseline of existence can be misleading because it implies that stasis has to be happy, but for some people, it could be discontent. If a loved one dies, I'm not saying that you'll totally recover, because now maybe you have to work harder to be happy and content living in a situation where comparable happiness or contentment before that loved one's death came much more easily and with less effort. Or yeah, maybe being embittered becomes your new state of existence, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that the extreme outlying emotions of intense joy and harrowing grief mellow out over time, so while you may still be joyful or depressed after an event, your response to the situation lessens over time as you acclimatize to it.
DeleteBut what you point out about that constant growth and improvement to maintain "happiness" or whatever you want to call it is the treadmill analogy - constantly working towards maintenance, which I meant when I talked about having to work harder, possibly uphill or against an incline to reach that same level of stasis and contentment.
And no worries - I didn't actually read the whole article either. Just skimmed it!