The Achievement Treadmill
The Achievement Treadmill
We have all heard of the hedonic treadmill. Basically lifestyle inflation, instead of sating our appetite, leads to more aggressive consumerism. We have more stuff but we are no more happy. I have documented in a previous post the trap of the stoic treadmill. This is the exact opposite situation. Frugality and minimalism lead to a life of wealth accumulation that is never used. Rich who live as paupers. Although you might think that covers the gamut, there is also one other trap that many of us FIRE minded people fall into. The achievement treadmill.
Just like wealth and frugality, it is possible to start on the path of success and never jump off. Although there is an original dopamine hit that comes with the first go around on the achievement treadmill, successive wins have a harder and harder time evoking such emotion.
Eventually we burn out.
The Wages of War
There is no greater achievement to a FI minded individual than scoring a high W2 wage. I remember the surge of energy and excitement that came in building income in my medical practice. Between lazy side hustles, directorships, and concierge medicine, I was able to push my salary into the stratosphere.
The downside to the achievement treadmill, however, is the higher the numbers get, the more we thirst for increases. When I got my first job, I thought six figures was a lot of money. By the time I topped out my medical practice, I was not even satisfied with almost seven figures.
Often I found myself signing up for loathsome tasks because they were lucrative.
Yet I had more than enough.
Side Hustlin Fool
I have made my ridiculous love affair with side hustles clear in a number posts on this blog. There is nothing I enjoy more than a good side gig. And there is no doubt that my road to wealth was paved not only with main jobs but all those funny things I did in my free time.
Yet. Yet. The side hustle can be taken too far. The problem with the achievement treadmill is that every new venture, no matter how small, becomes a vehicle to ludicrous success. In the eyes of the treadmiller, the whole mission becomes dependent on that measly income stream that cowers in the face of other ventures.
Because we crave that dopamine hit, because we crave the win, we fail to see that losses can be just as valuable. We overextend our resources and emotional energy.
FIRE Away
Don’t get me started on financial independence goals. We have snappy monikers for almost every level of FI out there. There is Barista FI. Lean FI, FI, fatFI, morbidly obese FI. The levels go on and on.
Why the heck do we have so many levels?
Because we are all stuck on the achievement treadmill. It is no longer good enough to reach just plain old FI. We need another level to strive towards once we get there. And another one after that.
After spending so many years climbing in the direction of our goal, is it any surprise that we turn around and create an even more audacious one?
Final Thoughts
The achievement treadmill has both good and bad aspects. Our continuous stretch towards greatness is truly a quality to be proud off. Once we taste the sweet flavor of success, we seem to crave it even more. While it propels us to greater heights, it also creates a further distance to fall.
There has to be some version of enough. Enough money. Enough fun.
Even enough success.
This is the reason why I hate treadmills of any kind 🙂 LOL
You are right, the initial satisfaction of hitting a new high often creates a desire to make a new high.
Last year I came within a hairsbreadth of bringing in 7 figures (to be honest I think I did go over it if you include some things I did not, but for federal tax purposes I just missed it). But it was my highest W2 year ever and it made me want to hit 7 figures with W2 income alone this year. So yeah I guess I’m on a treadmill I wasn’t aware of.
Yes. We should get rid of all treadmills. It’s funny the things you’ll do to reach 7 figures.
You know what the deal is with a treadmill? You never go anywhere.
20% of small businesses fail in their first year, 30% of small business fail in their second year, and 50% of small businesses fail after five years in business. Finally, 30% of small business owners fail in their 10th year in business. You can cutesy up the name small business to side hustle but failure is real. I’ve had to fire anesthesiologists who were not up to snuff. 4-5 of college, MCAT, 4 of American med school. 4-5 of top notch residency, licensure, board certification, and so sorry your skill set doesn’t cut it we can’t have you work here. A normal distribution has 2 tails. You live in the good tail. It means someone else lives in the bad tail. It’s a total drag when it comes o pass, but to pass it must come.
Cheers to the good end of the tail!
There is certainly an aspect of this in anyone driven. I’m not sure I’m there quite yet but the ends closer then the beginning. The closer I get I guess the sooner I get to having to define what it is.
It’s a continuum. We all fall somewhere on the spectrum and that can change at different stages of our career.