Solve Directly for Happiness, Skip the Hedonic Treadmill

We chase success, wealth, fame—anything and everything that promises to spark joy in the distant future. It’s as if happiness is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, always just out of reach. But here’s the catch: working on that rainbow—and swapping one shiny trophy for the next—traps you on a hedonic treadmill. No matter how fast you run, you go nowhere. A new car lasts four minutes; a raise lasts four hours. Your joy melts faster than ice cream in a desert.

Contrast that to solving directly for happiness. If joy is the variable you solve for, you can put all your energy into triggers you already have: a morning sunrise, a shared laugh, a brisk walk. You’re free of the treadmill. You flick a mental switch, ditch the endless ‘when I get…’ mantra, and say ‘I’m happy now when…’ Doesn’t that feel right? You don’t need to cross a finish line to get joy—you just need to rewire your equation.

Psychologists call this ‘solving for happy.’ It’s anchored in cognitive science: our brains light up immediately when we recognize positive experiences in the present moment. The more you practice, the stronger those neural pathways become, and the sooner you’ll reboot to happiness no matter what’s on your horizon. No more chasing, just living.

The next time you catch yourself whispering ‘I’ll be happy when…,’ write it down, then transform it on the spot. Swap out the future finish line for a current joy trigger—maybe a walk, a chat, or that warm mug of tea you love so much. Repeat afternoon, and again before sleep. Soon your happiness equation will solve itself, just like a reflex—no treadmill, no regrets.