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Since I was a kid and until very recently, I believed that once I got the next thing — a nicer car, a better watch, a new iPhone — I’d finally feel satisfied.

But I’d get the new car, the new watch, the new iPhone, and the excitement would wear off in just a few days, finding myself wanting the next thing over and over again.

It’s been 15 years of running the rat race, wondering why that itch for “more” never goes away?

I now know why.

I recently learned that humans tend to revert to a baseline level of happiness soon after something new happens, whether positive or negative. This is called Hedonic Adaptation.

The dark side of this is that it becomes a hamster wheel —a never-ending cycle that keeps us chasing the next thing, non-stop. We think that once we hit that next goal, or buy that next thing, we will finally be happy, but in reality, we get that next thing, and the excitement wears off after just a few days, and we’re back to wanting something new again.

Happiness isn’t about obtaining more things, which is why some of the wealthiest people aren’t the happiest. Happiness is returning to a state where nothing is missing.

In fact, Solomon, the wisest men that ever lived, had everything —all the money, all the women, all the fame and power. And yet, this is what he wrote in Ecclesiastes:

Desire is a recipe for unhappiness. You work hard to get what you want but feel unfulfilled until you have it, and once you do, you’re right back where you started: Unhappy.

So here’s something I’m beginning to put into practice to fix this problem: Staying away from desire.

Stay humble.

Love,

Host of How I Met God Podcast🎙️ Listen on Spotify or YouTube Let's connect on Twitter, Instagram or Threads.

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