(Thank you to Ingrid Fetell Lee for the inspiration for this post)
We know that the pleasure we find in tangible objects is fleeting. Scientists call this hedonic adaptation, or the hedonic treadmill, and it describes the way that our emotional responses to objects or situations dampen over time. Like when I keep journals and pens in my cart at Target, and in an hour the excitement of finding a journal with a velvet-embossed baby elephant wears off. I end up putting it back on the shelf because it no longer seduces me.
When we buy new things we love, the purchase lights up our brain with delight. But then we just get used to it, and while it may not be worn out, its appeal has dulled and we search for the opportunity to replace it with something new again.
On and on and on.
Ingrid asked me to make a list of things in my home that bring me joy. This is only partial:
My pewter elephants. My Icelandic prints. My little jewelry bowls. The Andrew Wyeth prints in the guest bedroom. The old-fashioned kitchen timer near my stove.
I’m trying to become more cognizant of objects of desire, so that what I buy has a lasting impression to make me happy long after the purchase. So what was I left with after shopping at Target last Friday? Not much. I’ll itemize.
A jar of Vitamin C Shea Sugar scrub for 8.49. This may seem like a luxury purchase, but I’m dying for a massage scrub lately, and they run in about $150.00. Not so bad now, huh? I love spa services so much, but I can’t go every month, so I try to do as much home spa-ing as I can. I treated myself to a bath and sugar scrub after the long weekend, and let me tell you it was LUXURIOUS.
A pink stoneware coffee mug with the phrase “Cup of Happy” for $7.00. I’ve been eyeing up this mug for months. I love the color, the graphics, and the feel of the stoneware. It gives me so much pleasure every morning when I use it. I know I complain about the crowds and warmer weather, but I can’t wait for spring so I can take this mug out to my patio and drink my first cup of coffee al fresco, and greet the morning with my squirrels, bunnies and ducks.
Toppling Tower Wood Blocks Game for $14.99. Dumb purchase, but I couldn’t help it. And in my defense, I was left unsupervised in front of the Chip and Joanna Gaines’ spring Magnolia collection. It’s like Jenga with desert and earth-toned blocks. I just pictured us playing this at the dining room table after Easter brunch. Love at first sight. And even if no one plays it, it brings me joy to look at it on the counter.
That was pretty much it. I got some Tide on sale, a Burts’ Bees lip shimmer, a bathmat with tassles.
From Ingrid:
“As people, we’re not fixed entities. We grow and change over time, and that may mean a changing relationship with our things. But by keeping these principles in mind, you’ll waste less money and time on things that quickly lose their luster, and be better able to invest in things that will have timeless resonance in your life.”
Read Ingrid’s article to find the six ways to make sure you choose things that bring you renewable joy.
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