This isn’t about pretending everything’s perfect or dismissing real challenges. It’s about understanding why our brains are wired to adapt so quickly that we stop noticing the good stuff.

So, how can we step off the hedonic treadmill, even briefly? According to Phoebe, we might be looking in the wrong places.

“The issue is that many happiness seekers focus on the wrong things to bring about happiness; they focus on life events such as relationships, marriage, a new job, a new house. However, we all carry a setpoint for happiness,” Phoebe said.

Research from Sonja Lyubomirsky, author of The How of Happiness, suggests happiness is made of three factors: 50 per cent is determined by our genes (or ‘set point’, as Phoebe calls it), 10 per cent by life circumstances and 40 per cent by intentional activity.

“This is great, because we can take action,” Phoebe said.

“Practice mindfulness and gratitude, avoid social comparison, exercise, cultivate self-compassion, pursue action guided by our values, engage in random acts of kindness; it’s all about how you show up.”

A top-view image of a woman's legs in blue and white stripes pyjamas, Apple headphones, an open journal and black pen and matcha in a glass with a straw.Gratitude journaling is one way to briefly step off the hedonic treadmill. Image: Pinterest/pinsforyoubabe.