Get Off the Hedonic Treadmill!

"The what?" you say. The hedonic treadmill. That's what research scientists call it when we relentlessly pursue pleasure. And the problem is that the hedonic treadmill, just like its physical counterpart at the gym, will sooner or later just wear you out!

You see, though pleasure is many times a component of your happiness, the over-pursuit of it is indeed detrimental to your happiness. Try too hard to find pleasure, and the result is stress, not joy.

So take your pleasure as it comes. Your life in its natural state provides you with plenty of opportunities. No need to go to extremes, to chase pleasure to the end of the Earth, or follow it down every dark alleyway.

Learn to enjoy the subtle pleasures that a sunrise, a smile, a fresh strawberry, a job well done can bring. Jump off that sweaty old treadmill and go outside for stroll around your neighborhood. Pleasure abounds. Happiness blossoms. Life is good.