"Do something today that your future self will thank you for"

The other day I read about something interesting called “hedonic treadmill or adaptation”, which is the observed tendency of humans to quickly return to a relatively stable level of happiness despite major positive or negative events or life changes.

And the first thing that resonated with me after reading about it was that this might be one of the reasons why we always try to get something more, something “better”, something extraordinary.

That peak of happiness and fulfilment is such a good feeling that we become addicted to it, and we try to get it again and again, running a treadmill of our own, almost a marathon against ourselves. 

We do not celebrate successes that much, or we easily forget about them, we do not even take the time to grief, a lost opportunity for example, and all the lessons learnt out from that experience. 

But, as I always say, there is hope!

We can start by celebrating even small things (the ordinary) so that they do not slide into insignificance, and by remembering that “once upon a time all we wanted was what we currently have”, so we need to appreciate it, enjoy it, make the best out of it. Let’s pay real attention, make an effort, savour what is really enjoyable about everything that is going on in our lives. 

And on the contrary, when something that we consider bad is going on, like losing a job, not getting a promotion, failing our exams, we need to remember to treat ourselves with compassion, be kinder to ourselves, seek help, open up, and learn from it for the next time.