The best pizza I’ve ever eaten is a 5 min walk from my apartment, but my wife and I chose to rarely go there.
While this may sound like a mistake, it’s a deliberate decision we made because going less often actually makes us appreciate the experience even more.
This loss of pizza pleasure occurs because of hedonic adaptation (often called the hedonic treadmill). Quoting from simple wiki, “Hedonic adaptation is the idea that humans get used to good and bad events over time.” It’s great that the bad moments of our life don’t leave us in the dumps forever, but the idea that we’re constantly on a treadmill and can’t treasure the wonderful things in life is disheartening.
However, the key phrase “over time” offers a potential way out. While we get used to good things over time, we experience significant joy when they occur.
Because of this, my wife and I deploy two strategies to keep things fresh
- Invest in experiences not objects/achievements.
- If we purchase our first house it’d feel like the greatest moment in our life, but that joy will slowly fade as it becomes a part of your day to day.
- Similarly, we are on top of the world when after promotions, but a few months later the novelty wears off.
- However, during our one week vacation to Hawaii everything felt fantastic as the experience was ephemeral. Instead of getting used to it, we cherished every moment.
- For your favorite experiences, enjoy them in moderation
This brings us back to our delicious Neaoplitan pizza. The less we have this delightful dish, the more it becomes a treat. Because we don’t go often, we savor every bite and truly appreciate this pizza pleasure.