Imagine you’re one of our hunter gatherer ancestors. You’ve just fulfilled your deepest desire: you’ve climbed to the top of the social hierarchy. Will you be satisfied?

Nope. People envy those at the top. They seek every opportunity to tear them down. No matter how nice you are to everyone, someone will be jealous. People may be conspiring against you at this very moment. You should not be satisfied until everyone loves you.

Source: You Will Never Be Satisfied

Thus starts a fantastic post that highlights the hedonistic adaptation of humans.

Nassim Taleb talks about how some things are “antifragile,” where the more you damage them, the stronger they get. Well, many of our desires are “antisatisfiable.” The more you satisfy them, the harder it becomes to satisfy them.

Source: You Will Never Be Satisfied

Besides, I find it kind of comforting. When I hold it in my mind, I feel a wave of relaxation wash over me, a kind of letting go, plus a chuckle at how absurd it all is. I realize that I no longer have to worry that I’m missing out on some secret to eternal bliss, some shimmering fountain of joy that everyone is frolicking in but me. I no longer have to feel envy—or at least, not as much of it. It might seem like other people have totally made it and they’re just swimming in awesome vibes all the time. But no, in all likelihood they’re running just as fast as I am on the treadmill to nowhere.

Source: You Will Never Be Satisfied

The author seems so close to seeing the truth. They choose nihilism and choose to see the humor in the insatiable nature of desire. While that’s certainly a path you can take, I think there’s a wiser, more sustainable path. And to be fair, it’s the Buddhists that suggested this path: They don’t teach to let go of desire. They teach to let go of the affect of desire on you. It’s nuanced, but very important. It’s a matter of personal choice. Desire is insatiable. Once you understand that, you can learn to accept that. You can learn to control when desire is doing its thing.

That’s far more sustainable. That’s the secret to happiness.