![]() But even now at nearly 50 years old, I can tell you that I never fully adapted to that major loss. It doesn’t affect my happiness today as it did when I was 12. ![]() In my personal life, for example, my father died in a car accident when he was 39 and I was 12. We adapt more slowly to negative experiences, and there are some negative experiences that we never fully adapt to. But here's the interesting thing: we adapt more quickly and completely to positive experiences than we do to negative ones. And it happens as a response to both positive and negative experiences. Hedonic adaptation is simply a part of being human. He said, "Man is a pliant animal, a being who gets accustomed to anything." Dostoevsky knew all about hedonic adaptation. What’s happened? Well, we’ve simply adapted to the increase in our income. If we don't get it, our current income that caused great happiness just 12 months earlier now is a source of pain and anger. Fast forward another year, and we expect another raise. It’s fun to tell close friends and family about the raise.īut after a few weeks or months, we adjust to our new income level. Hopefully, we increase our 401(k) contributions. It is a fancy term for a simple concept- while in the short term good and bad things that happen in our lives raise or lower our level of happiness, but over time we return to a constant state of happiness.įor instance, when we get a raise, we’re excited at first. This brings me back to hedonic adaptation. Can you imagine going over to a friend's house today to watch the Super Bowl on a 19" TV? When I was a kid, I was thrilled with the 19" color TV we had at the time. We are hardwired to constantly want more. That's one of the hardest questions to answer. Enough."ĭo you have enough? If not, then what will your life look like when you do have enough? Joe responds, "Yes, but I have something he will never have. Kurt says to Joseph, “You know, this billionaire makes more money in one day than you’ll make in your whole lifetime from your novel Catch-22. Two famous authors, Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller are talking at a party hosted by a billionaire hedge fund manager. He starts off his book with this very short story: This comes from the book Enough by Bogle, the founder of Vanguard. Instead of just telling you what hedonic adaptation is, I'd like to give you an example. It sounds philosophical, but it's really relevant to how we make financial and other personal decisions. Some people also call it the hedonic treadmill. Why does the excitement of a pay raise wear off in just a few months? Why does the “shine” of your new gadget or gorgeous new home wear off so quickly?
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