Have you ever achieved a goal, felt a rush of happiness, only to return to your usual mood soon after? This common experience is a perfect example of the hedonic treadmill. It’s the idea that our level of happiness tends to stay fairly stable, like we’re on a treadmill, because we quickly adapt to new circumstances—both good and bad.
Understanding this cycle is crucial, not for eliminating it, but for learning to run with it. As your fitness coach, I see this pattern all the time with health goals. You buy new running shoes, hit a personal best, and feel amazing. But soon, that 5k time becomes your new normal, and you’re aiming for 10k. The treadmill keeps moving. Let’s look at how this works and how you can use this knowledge to build a more sustainable, satisfying life.
Hedonic Treadmill
The term “hedonic treadmill” was coined by psychologists Brickman and Campbell in the 1970s. They observed that people quickly return to a relatively stable level of happiness despite major positive or negative life events. Think of it like your body’s internal thermostat for mood. It has a set point it tries to maintain.
Winning the lottery might spike your happiness. Suffering a loss might cause a deep drop. But research shows that, over time, most people drift back toward their baseline. This isn’t a flaw; it’s a feature of human psychology. It helped our ancestors stay focused on survival despite changing fortunes. But in modern life, it can make the pursuit of lasting satisfaction feel frustrating.
How the Treadmill Affects Your Fitness Journey
You’ve probably felt this in your own workouts. Let’s break it down:
- The New Gym High: You join a gym, full of motivation. Every workout feels like an achievement. The endorphin rush is strong.
- The Adaptation: After a few weeks, the routine becomes normal. The initial excitement fades. You’re not seeing dramatic changes every day anymore.
- The Plateau: Progress slows. That initial weight loss or strength gain stabilizes. The treadmill has caught up; your new routine is now your baseline.
- The Frustration: Without that constant “high,” you might feel like you’re failing or that it’s not working anymore. This is where many people quit.
See the cycle? The thrill of starting something new always fades. That’s the treadmill in action. It doesn’t mean your efforts are worthless. It means you need a smarter strategy than just chasing the next high.
Stepping Off the Treadmill: A Practical Guide
You can’t stop the treadmill, but you can learn to walk or run on it with more awareness and control. The goal isn’t to feel constant euphoria—that’s impossible. The goal is to raise your overall baseline of satisfaction and find joy in the process itself. Here’s a step-by-step plan.
Step 1: Shift from Goals to Systems
Goals are destinations (lose 20 pounds, run a marathon). Systems are the daily habits that get you there (cooking healthy meals three times a week, running every Tuesday and Thursday). When you focus only on the goal, you’re setting yourself up for the treadmill: you achieve it, adapt, and then need a new, bigger goal to feel that same high.
Instead, fall in love with the system. The satisfaction comes from showing up for your run, even on a rainy day. It comes from mastering a new recipe. This daily practice becomes a reliable source of contentment that doesn’t disappear once a goal is checked off.
Step 2: Practice Intentional Gratitude
Our brains are wired to notice what’s wrong or what’s next—it’s a survival mechanism. This fuels the treadmill by making us constantly look ahead to the next thing that will “make us happy.” Gratitude is the antidote.
- Keep it simple. At the end of your workout, mentally note one thing your body did well today. “My legs felt strong on that last hill.”
- Write down three small, non-fitness related things you’re grateful for each week. It could be a good cup of coffee, a call with a friend, or sunshine.
This practice actively counteracts our tendency to adapt and take things for granted. It helps you appreciate the value you already have in your life.
Step 3: Cultivate Mindful Awareness
Mindfulness is about noticing the present moment without judgement. On the treadmill, we’re often lost in thoughts of the future (the next goal) or the past (how good it used to feel). During your next workout, try this:
- For five minutes, focus only on the physical sensations. The rhythm of your breath, the feeling of your feet on the ground, the air on your skin.
- When your mind wanders to “Is this working?” or “I’m tired,” gently bring it back to sensation.
This trains you to find satisfaction in the current experience, not just in the outcome. It makes the activity itself more rewarding, which helps build a lasting habit.
Step 4: Redefine “Progress”
Progress isn’t always linear or measured by numbers on a scale or a stopwatch. If you only measure by big, visible outcomes, you’ll be on the treadmill forever. Broaden your definition.
- Progress is better sleep.
- Progress is having more energy to play with your kids.
- Progress is feeling less stressed after a workout.
- Progress is consistency—completing 90% of your planned workouts for the month.
These types of progress contribute deeply to life satisfaction and are less susceptible to the adaptation effect. They are the true wins.
Building a Sustainable Satisfaction Cycle
By combining these steps, you create a positive cycle that works with your psychology, not against it. Your system (Step 1) provides structure. Gratitude (Step 2) helps you appreciate the journey. Mindfulness (Step 3) deepens your engagement. And your redefined progress (Step 4) gives you a sense of accomplishment that fuels the cycle again.
This isn’t about never setting goals. It’s about not making them your sole source of happiness. The joy should be woven into the fabric of your daily actions. For example, don’t just train for a race; learn to appreciate the quiet focus of a morning training run as a valuable part of your day, regardless of your final time.
Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
Even with this knowledge, it’s easy to slip back into old patterns. Here’s what to watch for:
- Comparing Your Journey: Social media is a treadmill accelerator. You see someone’s highlight reel and feel your own progress is inadequate. Remember, you are only seeing their outcome, not their daily grind or their own adaptation.
- All-or-Nothing Thinking: Missing one workout or eating one “off-plan” meal doesn’t ruin everything. The treadmill mindset says, “I failed, so I might as well quit.” The sustainable mindset says, “That was a blip. I’ll get back to my system tomorrow.”
- Neglecting Recovery: Constant pushing without rest leads to burnout—a fast track to dissatisfaction. Schedule rest days as seriously as workout days. They are part of the system.
FAQ: Your Hedonic Treadmill Questions Answered
Is the hedonic treadmill a bad thing?
Not inherently. It helped humans survive by keeping us from becoming complacent. The problem arises when we don’t understand it and constantly chase external things for happiness, leading to a cycle of dissapointment.
Can you change your happiness set point?
Research suggests you can influence it over time, but not through one-time events. Lasting changes come from consistent practices like gratitude, mindfulness, nurturing relationships, and engaging in meaningful activities—like the steps outlined above.
How is this related to fitness?
Fitness culture often sells quick transformations and peak experiences (the “runner’s high”). This sets people up for the treadmill effect. When the initial excitement fades or progress slows, people think they’re doing something wrong and give up. Understanding the treadmill helps you build fitness for life, not just for a temporary high.
What’s the difference between happiness and satisfaction?
Happiness is often a temporary emotional state—a spike. Satisfaction, or life satisfaction, is a longer-term, deeper sense of contentment and fulfillment with your life as a whole. The strategies here aim to improve your overall life satisfaction, which can include moments of happiness but isn’t dependent on them.
Does this mean I should never buy nice things or set big goals?
Of course not! Enjoy new experiences and acheivements. The key is to not expect them to provide permanent happiness. Savor the moment, then return your focus to your daily systems and practices that build lasting well-being.
Moving Forward with Awareness
The hedonic treadmill isn’t a life sentence to dissatisfaction. It’s a powerful psychological pattern that, once understood, gives you incredible freedom. You stop chasing the next thing to make you happy and start building a life where happiness is a byproduct of your daily actions and mindset.
As your coach, my final advice is this: Start small. Pick one step from this guide—maybe practicing gratitude after your next workout or redefining what progress means to you this month. Implement it consistently. Notice how it changes your perspective. You’ll find that you can run on that treadmill with purpose, enjoying the ride itself, not just waiting for a finish line that always moves further away. That is the true path to understanding life’s satisfaction cycle.