Jumping Off the Treadmill
I experienced a very profound moment in my life around 2015. It was a few years after paying off our $236,000 of debt. Sarah and I were still in the midst of our fertility battle, but optimistic about possibly adopting a child soon. My career was thriving. And I was making many multiples of income from what I previously made. Reflecting on how blessed my life was, I couldn't help but feel it wasn't enough. It was all just, well, normal.
This is the season of life where I started pondering what would eventually become Meaning Over Money and my new career. It's also when I started digging deep into the behavioral science of money, work, and happiness.
The Hedonic Treadmill. I talk about this concept in my keynote, but it also leaks out in many other areas of my work. You may have heard it on the podcast, read it here, or caught it during an interview I gave. The topic comes up often, as it plays a critical role in our lives. In short, the Hedonic Treadmill is a phenomenon by which anything that happens to us, good or bad, becomes normal. We experience up-front pain or euphoria, but in a matter of weeks, we're back to being normal (albeit a new version of normal).
I've experienced the Hedonic Treadmill many times in life. Also, I watch many clients work through it in their own lives. What's interesting is how people interact with it differently IF they recognize it's happening.
This leads me to a few recent observations:
I was meeting with a young couple who make around $75,000 combined. Through the course of the conversation, they reveal their desire to get that number to $100,000. Why? Because that's the number that will allow them to feel confident financially.
I was having a drink with a friend. He mentioned he makes around $120,000 per year, but it feels tight. In his opinion, if he could get it closer to $150,000, they would be set.
I spent some time with another couple who frustratingly vented that their $200,000 income wasn't enough anymore. They didn't know the appropriate number, but it's definitely more than $200,000.
One of my friends proclaimed a family can't survive in this town with an income of only $335,000.
Several studies have been done over the years around the question of "What is enough?" Well, what is enough? In the overwhelming majority of cases, it's more than whatever their current situation looks like. It's the Hedonic Treadmill in action!
Back to that profound moment I experienced in 2015. One of the revelations I had during that season was this. Despite making many multiples of my younger self's income, I didn't feel any happier. My younger self wouldn't have believed what older Travis was making, yet it was just "normal" for me as I was living it. The Hedonic Treadmill was kicking my butt.
I had to jump off the treadmill. Do you, too?