Riding the Tiger .. a hedonic tread-mill Whilst pleasure & pain are prime influencers of human behaviours, men are forever in search of his stimulants of pleasure & immunisers of pain. Ideally, upon fulfilling goals & achieving rewards there should be a feeling of sustained happiness. Unfortunately, this is not true. One of the biggest barriers of durable happiness is the 'Hedonic Treadmill'. 'Hedonism' ... the doctrine that drives belief that pleasure is the highest good in life. This Hedonic treadmill of happiness, makes protagonist take available pleasure for granted. Not that the power of 'achieved' happiness diminishes .. however, its potency to stimulate further happiness drastically reduces You keep pushing harder... It's like riding a tiger ! Achievement & Happiness have only a brief & marginal relationship. Achievers get stressed pursuing further higher achievements. Contextually, promotions do not motivate job satisfaction beyond 6 months , special increments have short duration shelf-life. Performance feedbacks, reward letters etc beyond a point do not lead to happiness nor loyalty. Happiness is broader . Has many more dimensions to it than mere 'achievement orientation'.Sooner one realizes, better... for thence men's pursuit for authentic happiness begins!