Episode 74 - Stoicism - Hedonic Adaption

What if I told you I knew the secret to a happy life? A life full of peace and tranquility? Most people assume that money buys happiness and luxury is the secret to eternal bliss. In fact, that’s almost the opposite of the truth. As a famous philosopher said: “Mo money, mo problems” - oh wait that was Biggie… but he wasn’t really wrong! In fact there are some simple exercises you can do to trick your brain into valuing what you have even more and realizing that upgrading your life is not the key to happiness. The principle is hedonic adaption and really it’s a fancy way of describing that feeling you get after you take that first sip of your double espresso - but eventually as we all know, that caffeine high wears off and you are no better off than you were before. By tricking ourselves to appreciate what we have; we can come out ahead financially but more importantly in the game of life!