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.