I think most people referencing this term aren't really talking about a hedonic treadmill. There's a lot of talk about getting richer and not happier. But the k

I think most people referencing this term aren't really talking about a hedonic treadmill. There's a lot of talk about getting richer and not happier. But the key to me is adaptation. As we move from one situation to another we adapt to that situation, better or worse. We may think prison would be total hell, but then get there and find that it's tolerable. Similarly, we could get a windfall or major financial breakthrough and soon find that our state doesn't much change. I find there's a certain texture to my day to day and it takes a lot to change that. There may seemingly be a lot of changes around me, but the texture of my day stays largely the same. A major increase of salary might open a world of options, but my time is my real bottleneck. I can make a list of things I would like to do and then come to the conclusion that it's best to do nothing. I imagine starting from a template for a painting session which is plain but not blank. I can paint all sort of wild possibilities but then realize that my reality is still that same plain template. I paint stories of dramas, ups, downs, victories, downfalls, etc and the realize that nothing has actually changed in the background. I just made all that other stuff up. Yes, the boss really did fly off the handle and I feared for my job, but I know that tomorrow will be business as usual. Question for you guys. Do you feel that the hedonis treadmill is a thing which pushes us forward? I would argue that it does the opposite, it holds us back. I feel the greatest growth comes from the smallest period of being in adaptation. Just long enough to decide, act, observe and get back to orientation. It's just a long improv.