People adapt to their circumstances. A raise or a new car boosts happiness for a while, then baseline returns. Setbacks hurt, then we adapt. The hedonic treadmill is the idea that we keep moving but stay in roughly the same place in terms of reported well-being — because we recalibrate. The term comes from Brickman and Campbell (1971); the mechanism is hedonic adaptation. What was a gain becomes the new normal; what was a loss is absorbed. The implication: one-time changes in circumstance often have only temporary effects on happiness. Lasting change in well-being may require changing what we compare to or what we pay attention to, not just changing the circumstance.
In decisions and strategy, the treadmill explains why "more" often fails to deliver. More revenue, more users, or more features can feel good briefly and then become the new floor. Targets ratchet: hit the number once and the next target is higher. The treadmill also explains why loss hurts more than gain pleases — we adapt to gains but losses leave a longer residue (loss aversion and adaptation interact). The strategic use: don't assume that giving customers or employees "more" will permanently increase satisfaction. Design for sustained engagement, comparison, and meaning rather than one-off boosts. And don't assume your own next win will feel different; it may not.
The model does not say that circumstances don't matter. It says that the effect of a one-time change on subjective well-being is often temporary. To escape the treadmill, you need either repeated positive variation (new experiences, growth) or a shift in reference (gratitude, different comparison group) or a focus on process and meaning rather than outcome level. The same applies to product and retention: one-time rewards may not shift long-term satisfaction; habit, relationship, and ongoing value do.
Section 2
How to See It
The hedonic treadmill shows up when improvements or setbacks in circumstance produce only temporary shifts in satisfaction or mood. Look for rapid recalibration to the new normal and for targets that ratchet up as soon as they are hit.
Business
You're seeing Hedonic Treadmill when a pay raise or promotion boosts morale for a few months and then engagement returns to the prior level. The new level becomes the reference. Compensation and recognition strategies that rely on one-time boosts often underperform; sustained differentiation, growth, and meaning do better.
Technology
You're seeing Hedonic Treadmill when users get used to a product improvement and then take it for granted. The "wow" of a new feature fades; the baseline resets. Retention and NPS strategy must account for adaptation — continuous improvement, novelty, or deepening relationship may be needed to avoid the treadmill.
Investing
You're seeing Hedonic Treadmill when you keep moving the goalpost for "enough." Returns that once would have satisfied now feel normal; you need more to feel the same. The treadmill can drive excessive risk-taking or perpetual dissatisfaction. Discipline: set the reference in advance and stick to it, or explicitly choose a reference that supports long-term goals.
Markets
You're seeing Hedonic Treadmill when customer expectations rise with every product generation. What was premium becomes standard. The treadmill pushes the whole category forward — and means that "we improved" is only a temporary advantage unless improvement is continuous or the reference (e.g. brand, category definition) shifts.
Section 3
How to Use It
Decision filter
"Before assuming that a one-time change (raise, launch, acquisition) will durably change satisfaction or motivation, ask: will we adapt? The hedonic treadmill says we often do. Design for sustained variation, shifting reference, or process rather than level. And set your own reference deliberately so the treadmill doesn't drive endless escalation."
As a founder
Don't rely on one-off rewards to sustain motivation or customer loyalty. Bonuses and features create a spike and then adaptation. Build for the long run: growth opportunities, meaningful work, and product that creates ongoing value or habit. When setting goals, be aware that hitting a target will reset the reference — the next target will feel just as hard. Design the treadmill in your favour: reference to past self or mission, not only to the next number.
As an investor
Be wary of the treadmill in your own psychology. Returns that felt great once become the new normal. That can push you toward more risk or more activity than is optimal. Set explicit references (e.g. long-term benchmark, enough) and avoid ratcheting expectations with every win. In portfolio companies, ask how they design for sustained engagement rather than one-time delight.
As a decision-maker
When evaluating options, don't overweight the temporary pleasure or pain of an outcome. The treadmill means that the emotional difference between options may be short-lived. Focus on outcomes that affect long-term trajectory, meaning, or constraints — not just the immediate hedonic hit. And when others seem never satisfied, consider that they may be on a treadmill; the fix may be reference, not more stuff.
Common misapplication: Saying "nothing matters because we adapt." The treadmill describes average adaptation to circumstance; it does not say that circumstances are irrelevant. Poverty, illness, and oppression have real and lasting effects. The model is about the marginal effect of changes once baseline is accounted for — and about the danger of assuming that "more" will permanently change satisfaction.
Second misapplication: Ignoring variation. Adaptation is to level; variation around the level still matters. New experiences, growth, and unpredictability can improve well-being even when the average level adapts. The treadmill is about the baseline; design for variation and growth to offset it.
Ravikant has spoken about the hedonic treadmill and the trap of "more." He argues that peace of mind comes from detaching from the treadmill — from wanting less and from choosing your reference (e.g. enough, freedom) rather than letting society or comparison set it. His advice to founders and investors often includes recognising that the next milestone will feel similar once achieved; the goal is to enjoy the process and set references that don't escalate endlessly.
Munger warns against "getting used to" luxury and status — the treadmill in reverse. He advocates for low expectations and gratitude so that small improvements feel like gains rather than the new floor. His "invert" approach applies: to be happy, avoid the traps that put you on a treadmill (comparison, escalation of wants). The discipline is choosing the reference.
Section 6
Visual Explanation
Hedonic Treadmill — Satisfaction rises with a gain, then adapts back toward baseline. The new level becomes the reference. One-time changes have temporary effect; design for sustained variation or reference.
Section 7
Connected Models
The hedonic treadmill connects to anchoring, expectation, and loss. The models below either describe the reference mechanism (anchoring, expectation effect), the shape of utility (diminishing utility, peak-end), or the asymmetry of gain and loss (loss aversion, present bias).
Reinforces
[Anchoring](/mental-models/anchoring)
Anchoring is the bias whereby an initial value sets the reference for subsequent judgment. The treadmill is anchoring over time: the current circumstance becomes the anchor for the next evaluation. After a raise, the new salary is the anchor; "more" is judged relative to it. The two are the same mechanism at different time scales.
Reinforces
Diminishing [Utility](/mental-models/utility)
Each additional unit of a good typically adds less utility than the previous one. The treadmill is diminishing utility over time: the same level of "good" produces less satisfaction once we are used to it. Both describe how more does not translate proportionally into more satisfaction.
Leads-to
Expectation Effect
Expectations shape experience. When we expect a gain, we may feel good in anticipation and then adapt once we have it. The expectation effect can amplify the initial response; the treadmill then pulls us back. Managing expectations is one way to influence where the post-adaptation baseline lands.
Leads-to
Peak-End Rule
We remember experiences by their peak and their end, not by the average. The treadmill is about the average level of well-being over time; the peak-end rule is about memory. Together they suggest that one way to "beat" the treadmill is to create memorable peaks and good endings — experiences that are recalled as positive even if we adapt to the level.
Section 8
One Key Quote
"The adaptation-level phenomenon suggests that the same objective stimulus will produce the same subjective response only when it is experienced in the context of the same adaptation level."
— Brickman & Campbell, Hedonic Relativism and Planning the Good Society (1971)
The same objective change — the same raise, the same feature — produces a different subjective response depending on what we have adapted to. Once we adapt to the new level, the stimulus no longer delivers the same kick. Strategy and incentive design must account for shifting adaptation levels.
Section 9
Analyst's Take
Faster Than Normal — Editorial View
One-time boosts are temporary. Raises, bonuses, and feature launches create a spike and then adaptation. Don't build retention or motivation strategy on one-off rewards. Build on sustained value, growth, and meaning. The treadmill will absorb the one-time gain.
Set the reference deliberately. If you don't choose your reference (enough, mission, past self), the environment will choose it for you — and it will ratchet. Gratitude and "enough" are ways to set a reference that doesn't escalate. So is comparing to your past self rather than to others who have more.
Design for variation. Adaptation is to level; variation still registers. New experiences, growth, and unpredictability can improve well-being even when the average level adapts. Products and roles that offer continuous learning and novelty may resist the treadmill better than static "more."
Don't assume the next win will feel different. Founders and investors often believe that the next milestone will finally bring satisfaction. The treadmill says it may not. Plan for that: enjoy the process, set references that support long-term contentment, and avoid designing life around a series of one-time highs that will each be absorbed.
Section 10
Summary
The hedonic treadmill is the tendency to adapt to circumstances and return toward a baseline of well-being. Gains and losses have temporary effects; then the reference shifts. Strategy: don't rely on one-time changes to durably change satisfaction. Design for sustained variation, chosen reference, and process. And set your own reference so the treadmill doesn't drive endless escalation.
Gilbert on misprediction of future happiness. We fail to anticipate adaptation — the treadmill in action — and make decisions that don't deliver the lasting satisfaction we expect.
Ravikant's interviews and tweets on wanting less, choosing reference, and escaping the treadmill. Practical philosophy for founders and investors.
Tension
Loss Aversion
We lose more from a loss than we gain from an equivalent gain. The treadmill says we adapt to gains; loss aversion says losses stick. The tension: we may adapt to small losses but not to large ones. Loss aversion may be why we don't fully adapt to some setbacks — the loss is coded as a lasting negative. The two together explain asymmetric adaptation.
Reinforces
Present Bias
We overweight the present. The treadmill says that the present gain will feel smaller later. Present bias pulls us toward immediate reward; the treadmill says that reward will not last. The combination: we may overvalue the immediate boost and underweight the fact that we will adapt. Long-term design should account for both.
