Hello and welcome to Being Well, I'm Forest Hanson.

If you're new to the podcast, this is where we explore the practical science of lasting

well-being.

And if you've listened before, welcome back.

We've talked on this show about hundreds of ways that we can improve our well-being

and be happier over time.

But one of the hardest things to do isn't just to get happy, it's to stay happy, particularly

in some reliable way as the events of life wash over us.

Good events, experiences, and changes in our life circumstances tend to make us happier

for a little while.

In bad events, experiences, and changes in our life circumstances tend to make us

unhappier for a while.

But there's this funny feature of life where over time, it can often feel like we're

just regressing back to a kind of stable level of happiness that we carry with us.

And that's what we're going to be exploring today.

This is something known as theodonic adaptation, and I'm really excited that we're going

to be delving into it.

So to help us do that, I'm joined today as usual by Dr. Rick Hanson, Rick is a clinical

psychologist, a best-selling author, and very happy to say that he's my dad.

So dad, how are you doing today?

Well, I'm doing well, and I got a nice little hedonic bump from you saying that.

And I'm seeing your face as you say it, and I just want you to know that I'm profoundly

...