[!todo] Seed note. A starting point, not a finished note yet.
Hedonic adaptation is the well-documented pull back to a personal happiness baseline after life changes, good or bad. The raise, the new house, the great trip all lift mood briefly, then the lift fades as the new state becomes the reference point. It is why Nawijn’s vacationers were no happier than stay-at-homes within eight weeks of returning. The practical lever is that adaptation is slower for novel, varied, and social experiences than for possessions, which argues for a pipeline of smaller anticipations over one large peak that you then adapt away from. Seeded from Anticipatory Savoring.