Hedonic Adaptation and the Pursuit of Happiness

‘The world is a comedy to those who think, a tragedy to those who feel’ – Horace Walpole

When one looks at people – both people in general and individuals – it does often seem that they are, unwittingly, trapped in a narrative that is not of their making. 

They may be living up to parents’ expectations, chasing the respect of peers, maintaining a delusional self-image. As Shakespeare mused - it is as if each of us plays our part, like actors on a stage. That this narrative becomes visible to others, but almost never to the individual is the tragi-comic element; doubly so as we become aware that since this applies to everyone else, it surely applies to us.

But it is the patterns that interest me here: the themes common to people in general.

This cartoon – Hedonic Adaptation – reminded me of the research on which it is based, showing that after a major life event people (e.g. winning the lottery, becoming disabled) people quickly revert to being as happy as they were before. It is as if the world leaves our happiness untouched.

And so this is the grand tragi-comic narrative: all these silly people chasing stuff, relationships, careers – which impact happiness very little – but which they do in the pursuit of happiness.

Again and again I see this: people chasing happiness like hamsters in a wheel. Every so often I glimpse the solution - @euan remarking onthe beauty of rain on concrete for example – and am reminded that the real work must take place within. But it’s a work in progress to be honest - try as I might the right state of mind comes and goes like sunshine on a cloudy day.