We all know them—those overachievers in our lives. They’re the ones who relentlessly push themselves toward big, lofty goals. They achieve success, often in remarkable ways. And yet, when we look at them over time, despite their accomplishments, they never seem satisfied or content. Why do they always seem so miserable?
It’s a phenomenon I’ve come to understand through what I call the Achievement Treadmill—a trap that many overachievers unknowingly fall into.
The Achievement Treadmill: The Pursuit of More, and Still Not Enough
The achievement treadmill is a psychological cycle that occurs when we attempt to fill an inner emptiness with external accomplishments. It’s a bit like running on a treadmill: no matter how fast we go, we don’t move forward. Instead of feeling fulfilled by our successes, we quickly return to our baseline level of happiness, which I refer to as hedonic adaptation.
Hedonic adaptation, or the hedonic treadmill, is the tendency to quickly return to a stable level of happiness after positive or negative events. This means that no matter how grand an achievement may seem, it doesn’t deliver long-lasting fulfillment. And the cycle continues. Once one achievement is checked off, there’s a craving for the next one. Over time, we’re left running faster and faster, but ultimately staying in the same place, emotionally and psychologically.
Why Does the Achievement Treadmill Happen?
To understand why some people get stuck in this cycle, we need to consider the difference between meaning and purpose. While purpose is rooted in action and the present or future, meaning pertains to our past and the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves.
People who lack a strong sense of meaning often feel they are not enough or incomplete. They might seek to fill that void by accomplishing things in the present or future, believing that the next achievement will finally provide a sense of wholeness. However, the reality is that achieving more doesn’t address the underlying issue. It’s like putting a band-aid on a much deeper wound.
Instead of addressing their past feelings of inadequacy through introspection or therapy, these individuals double down on purpose—on future-oriented achievements. But in the end, as soon as they reach the next milestone, the feeling of emptiness resurfaces, compelling them to chase an even bigger goal.
This pattern is familiar to anyone who’s ever tried to achieve their way to happiness. But it’s also painfully clear in the stories of high-profile individuals, especially in pop culture.
A Case Study in the Achievement Treadmill: Bruce Jenner’s Olympic Journey
One of the most poignant examples of the achievement treadmill is the story of Bruce Jenner, now Caitlyn Jenner. Born male but now female. As we now know, Jenner’s journey seemed complicated. Even though he likely had gender identity difficulties, he achieved much externally. He excelled in the decathlon—often viewed as the pinnacle of masculinity in athletics.
Jenner’s dedication and focus were extraordinary. In 1976, after years of intense training, he entered the Olympics and delivered one of the most impressive athletic performances in history, winning a gold medal in the decathlon and setting a world record. It was, by all accounts, a monumental achievement.
But despite this victory, Jenner’s gender identity had never been addressed. The more Jenner proved himself in the masculine world of sports, the more it became apparent that these external achievements weren’t the key to finding internal peace.
Jenner’s ultimate journey, which culminated in his decision to transition into Caitlyn Jenner, must have been a pivotal moment for personal happiness, identity, and a sense of meaning. The true path to healing and fulfillment wasn’t about achieving more.
The Perils of the Achievement Treadmill
The cycle of achievement doesn’t just bring emptiness; it also carries risks. Here are a few key dangers of constantly pursuing more in the hope that it will bring fulfillment:
- Running Out of Achievements to Conquer: Once Bruce Jenner reached the peak of athletic success by winning the Olympic gold in 1976, there was nowhere higher to go. There was no bigger achievement to conquer, no greater title to claim. For most of us, this moment is even more acute—we fail before we ever achieve our biggest goals, leaving us feeling deflated, defeated, and even further away from happiness.
- The Empty Promise of Achievement: Even if we do reach those pinnacle achievements, as we saw with Jenner, they don’t necessarily bring the happiness or fulfillment we expect. Instead, we find ourselves in a constant state of craving for the next big goal. This can make the pursuit feel endless and exhausting. Achieving our goal can sometimes feel more like a temporary relief than a true solution to the problem of emptiness.
- The Fear of Loss: Once we achieve something we’ve worked so hard for, the fear of losing it can cause even more distress than the effort it took to attain it. This phenomenon, known as loss aversion, can make us obsessed with maintaining our achievements, leading to even more anxiety and dissatisfaction.
Breaking Free from the Achievement Treadmill
If we want our achievements to feel good—rather than perpetuating the cycle of endless striving—we must stop using achievements as a way to fill an internal void. The secret to stepping off the treadmill lies in addressing our core issue: Meaning.
To truly find fulfillment, we need to examine the narratives we tell ourselves about our past. Therapy can be a powerful tool in this process, as it helps us reframe our past experiences, challenge old beliefs, and rewrite our stories in a way that allows us to feel “enough.” When we can understand that we are already enough—without needing to prove ourselves through endless achievement—then we can approach future goals with a sense of joy and fulfillment, not anxiety or desperation.
As we’ve seen in the story of Caitlyn Jenner, the true path to inner peace doesn’t lie in the accumulation of external accomplishments. Instead, it lies in self-acceptance, embracing one’s identity, and addressing the core feelings of inadequacy that many overachievers experience.
The next time you find yourself or someone you know running on the achievement treadmill, remember: true fulfillment doesn’t come from the next goal—it comes from the work we do within. Only by dealing with our past and rewriting our story can we step off the treadmill and finally find peace.