Adaptation

Think that buying Porsche would actually make you happier than driving Subaru? Or, as my mentor recently asked in his blog post, can dining at Gaddis create a higher overall happiness level than at the fast food restaurant Café de Coral? Think again.

It looks like it's satisfying to buy another new car - and it is. But not for long. Believe me, we thought it was great at first. But it has made a heck of a difference when we step back and think about the overall happiness level. This has something to do with the human psychology of hedonic adaptation - the natural process for humans to quickly get used to things and return to a set point. In essence, the happiness - however high we achieve - will soon wear off. In the end, we sigh and moan and wish we had more money. From an economist viewpoint, the best strategy should be to space purchases to an intermittent approach, instead of the shopping spree.

The same goes for buying coffee. Should I yearn to visit Starbucks? Their coffee is great; everyone say so. If I started buying coffee from Starbucks, I would get used to that level of coffee quality and would no longer be able to derive any pleasure from cheaper coffee.

Man is a pliant animal, as Fyodor Dostoyevsky reminds us, a being who gets accustomed to anything.