Essay Example on Adapting to Changes: The Hedonic Thread Mill

While man experiences various changes in their daily life, studies have shown that there is always a tendency to restore oneself to the previous state. The aspect of being able to adapt to the drastic change in life and getting back to the former state is known as the Hedonic Thread Mill. Primarily, there is a healthy state of happiness in every individual's life, when this state changes due to a positive occurrence, the level rises and likewise drops when there is a negative influence. As a way to adapt to life and maintaining a good well-being, humans have developed a counter mechanism to this.

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During the cause of life, the challenges observed form a drift in the way we perceive happiness. Many people tend to think that, by striving and achieving a goal that they so much desire, they will feel satisfied. However, after getting what they wanted, there is always a drop in their level of happiness after some time. Several have proven that this fall in satisfaction is basically because of two effects: one, the up-down effect and two, the down-up effect. This way is such that, when the goal anticipated has been achieved, the individual's desires are shifted higher, causing the fall in happiness as the quest for the next ambition starts. Similarly, when the goal is obtained, the person may have a feeling of familiarity is generated and hence drop in happiness (Diener, Inglehart & Tay, 2013).

A study done on how people react after a painful experience or an exciting one revealed that the time of transition is quite fast (Diener, Lucas & Scollon, 2009). While this effect is valuable in enabling the human species to recover from the turmoil of life quickly. However, this aspect could be disastrous when the ultimate quest for happiness is searched. The study showed that people would drawback to their normal state within a period of five to nine months. The excitement will always fade away and feeling of normalcy restored.

Among the rich and the less fortunate, a small difference in the level of happiness was observed. The researched ruled out the factor of having material wealth and its relation to satisfaction. On the contrary, it was shown that both had a common effect when they got used with what they wanted. The obtaining of achievements and goals only gave a short pulse in the happiness graph. While most of the time, recovery from devastating situations were observed, there were some situations where the victim suffered without recovery. Such circumstances include the loss of spouse or children, traumatic experience caring for loved ones with terminal infections (Sheldon, & Lyubomirsky, 2012).

Conclusion

In conclusion, to obtain the ultimate happiness in life, a different goal should be set other than getting material wealth. By appreciating every single thing, we have, we will develop self-satisfaction. By understanding that whatever we have and what we may achieve will not always bring peace and content and that the source of our peace and happiness is within rather than from others, we will develop happiness. Being satisfied and the content will go a long way to enhance how we feel about our self.

References

Diener, E., Inglehart, R., & Tay, L. (2013). Theory and validity of life satisfaction scales. Social Indicators Research, 112(3), 497-527.

Diener, E., Lucas, R. E., & Scollon, C. N. (2009). Beyond the hedonic treadmill: Revising the adaptation theory of well-being. In The science of well-being (pp. 103-118). Springer, Dordrecht.

Sheldon, K. M., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2012). The challenge of staying happier: Testing the hedonic adaptation prevention model. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 38(5), 670-680.