Vol. 28, No. 3 #9 (June 2005). Why do I feel so unfulfilled when I have so much?.

• Author: By John E. Moore

Wyoming Bar Journal

2005.

Vol. 28, No. 3 #9 (June 2005).

Why do I feel so unfulfilled when I have so much?

WYOMING LAWYERJune 2005/Vol. XXVIII, No. 3Why do I feel so unfulfilled when I have so much?By John E. Moore

Many members of the bar throughout our country struggle with the question of fulfillment. On one level, as attorneys we enjoy a privileged place in society with opportunities, corresponding responsibilities and incomes greater than the average. On another, many members of our profession experience a continuing lack of fulfillment and happiness in their work. Is it us or the world around us that makes this so? We live in a society that preaches and sells a model of life based upon happiness. Happiness, a turbo-charged state of life enjoyment, has become a largely commercialized concept that encourages people to consume consistently. We seek the perfect body type, the ideal home, the latest technological advance because doing so offers the possibility of an enhanced life state.

For many, life in this Happiness Society takes place against financial and physical wealth never before seen in the history of mankind. Individual and societal wealth has increased dramatically over the past 50 years. In the United States, for example, real per capita income doubled between 1970 and 2000.

And, yet, large numbers of us fail to feel fulfilled by life in this happiness-based society. Public opinion polls conducted over time reveal that happiness has declined generally over time and that Americans are generally less happy now than they were in 1950. Other polls demonstrate that even within a society, greater incomes do not mean greater happiness.

Why? Because of the pursuit of heightened state of life pleasure that we call Happiness creates a treadmill which many find impossible to escape. There is always something better than the present thing. And, having purchased this latest Next Great Thing our lifestyle adjusts to new levels of comfort. While we continue to feel less than fulfilled, society creates a newer, better Next Great Thing. Proceeding along with the societal flow, we thoughtlessly reset our sights on that new purchase with renewed (but unjustified) hope that fulfillment will follow.

Economists identify this endless process of searching for fulfillment consistent acquisition as the "Hedonic Treadmill." Highlighted...