The Satisfaction Paradox
A few years ago, I came across something that genuinely made me pause.
There’s a remote tribe in the Amazon called the Pirahã. They live with almost no possessions, have no written language, and — get this — don’t even have a word for More.
Yes. Let that sink in.
If they catch enough fish for the day, they don’t save extra for tomorrow. If they have enough food, they stop hunting. And despite having almost nothing by modern standards, studies show they are some of the happiest people on Earth.
Meanwhile, here I was, overthinking my next career move, wondering if I should upgrade my phone, scrolling through Airbnb listings for vacations I wasn’t even planning to take.
Why do we, with all our options, still feel like we need more? And why does ‘more’ rarely make us happier?
This is The Satisfaction Paradox, the idea that the more we chase, the less we enjoy. It’s not just about money or status, it applies to everything — our careers, relationships, experiences, even our sense of self-worth.
So Why Does Happiness Always Feels One Step Away?
For years, I thought satisfaction was just around the corner.
“If I get this job, I’ll finally feel successful.”
“If I move to that city, life will be better.”
“If I hit this goal, I’ll finally relax.”
But every time I arrived at one of these so-called finish lines, something weird happened. The excitement faded. The goalposts moved. My brain whispered, Okay, but what’s next?
Turns out, there’s a name for this. Psychologists call it the Arrival Fallacy, the illusion that we’ll be happy when we reach a certain milestone.
It’s why so many people spend years working towards a goal, only to feel surprisingly empty once they get there. That dream job? Now it’s just a job. That relationship? Still requires effort. That dream house? Now you’re stressing about the mortgage.
It’s not that these things don’t bring joy it’s that they don’t bring permanent joy. The satisfaction we expect is always delayed, always just one more step ahead.
Why Having More Makes Us Appreciate Less?
I’ll be honest, sometimes I miss the excitement I used to feel when I was little. Nothing was in my control and nor I cared but I appreciated everything more. A dinner out felt special. A new gadget was a big deal. Small wins felt huge.
Now? I can buy things more easily, but I enjoy them less…let alone feeling excitement.
And this is The Paradox of Plenty. The more we have, the less special things feel. It’s why the first bite of cake is amazing, but by the tenth, it’s just… cake. It’s why billionaires keep chasing money they don’t need because the thrill of ‘more’ dulls over time.
Our brains weren’t designed for abundance. They were wired for scarcity — to find joy in the little wins. But when everything is available instantly, our sense of appreciation gets numbed.
So how do we reset?
I won’t lie — this is hard. We’ve been trained to chase ‘more’ since childhood. But the good news? Satisfaction is a skill, not a destination.
But here’s what’s been helping me:
1. I have Stopped Living for the ‘Next Thing’
If you’re always waiting for the next achievement, you’ll never enjoy where you are. We must question “If nothing in my life changed, could I still find happiness today?”
2. Instead of chasing new things, I try subtracting for a while. I have unsubscribed from excess notifications. Stopped checking how much better someone else is doing. Created space for appreciation instead of just accumulation.
3. I started using ‘Contrast Therapy’.
This one’s weird, but it works. If you want to reset your sense of appreciation, temporarily take away something you take for granted. Go a week without ordering food. Spend a day without your phone. You’ll be shocked at how much you suddenly appreciate those things again.
4. Define Your Own ‘Enough’
What if you already have enough? Not in a ‘give up on your dreams’ way, but in a realize-you’re-not-missing-much way.
I used to think I needed a ‘better’ life. Turns out, I just needed a better mindset about my life.
It’s Your Choice — Are You Willing to Be Satisfied?
The Satisfaction Paradox isn’t a conspiracy, instead it’s just how our brains work.
But satisfaction isn’t stolen from us. “We give it away”.
We trade it for comparison.
We trade it for the illusion of ‘better.’
We trade it for a version of happiness that always lives in the future.
So stop chasing and start noticing.
If we don’t learn how to enjoy what we have now… We never will.
Because the moment we stop running, we realize we were already here.
Read Further
The Pirahã Tribe & Their Unique Way of Thinking
