You landed the promotion, updated your LinkedIn, and popped the champagne. But just days later, the excitement fades, and you’re already eyeing the next goal. Why does this happen? Meet the psychological trap called the “Arrival Fallacy.”
What is the arrival fallacy?
The Arrival Fallacy is the mistaken belief that achieving a specific goal—whether it’s a job title, a salary milestone, or a personal ambition—will bring lasting happiness. Coined by psychologist Tal Ben-Shahar, the term explains why we often feel underwhelmed after big accomplishments.
Imagine you’re running a race toward a trophy. You reach the finish line, celebrate briefly, and almost instantly start eyeing a new, shinier trophy further down the track. That’s the Arrival Fallacy in action: you delay happiness for a future milestone, only to find yourself chasing another one once you “arrive.”
The science behind why success feels underwhelming
Research in behavioral psychology and neuroscience provides solid evidence for this emotional dip following achievement. A few key insights:
- Hedonic Adaptation: According to the hedonic treadmill theory, humans quickly adapt to new circumstances. Whether you win the lottery or land a big raise, your happiness spikes briefly and then resets to a personal baseline.
- Impact Bias: We overestimate how good we’ll feel—and for how long—when something positive happens. Studies show that people routinely mispredict the emotional payoff of promotions, weddings, or material purchases.
- Focusing Illusion: As noted by Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman, we often overestimate the impact of a single life event—such as a promotion—on our overall happiness, overlooking the other variables that contribute to well-being.
One longitudinal study even found that newly tenured professors reported no long-term increase in happiness compared to their pre-tenure selves. The same happens with people who reach major fitness goals or buy their dream homes—they soon recalibrate, looking for the next “high.”
Common arrival fallacies across life areas
The Arrival Fallacy isn’t limited to careers. It manifests across different domains of life:
- Work: You believe the next promotion or pay raise will make you truly happy. It does—briefly—until it becomes your new normal.
- Relationships: You assume getting married or having children will complete your happiness puzzle, only to discover that new challenges quickly follow.
- Self-improvement: You think mastering a skill or hitting a fitness goal will bring lasting joy. But the emotional reward fades quickly as your goals evolve.
The hidden cost of chasing the next thing
The constant pursuit of milestones without appreciating the present can lead to chronic dissatisfaction, burnout, and the nagging feeling that happiness is always just out of reach. In some cases, it even erodes self-esteem—because you’re always comparing your current self to a better, more successful future version.
Left unchecked, the Arrival Fallacy keeps you on a loop of goal-chasing that offers little emotional return. You become stuck in a cycle of seeking, achieving, and resetting—without ever feeling fully content.
How to break free from the arrival fallacy
So, how do you escape this happiness mirage? Here are science-backed strategies to find more joy in the journey:
Celebrate small wins
Don’t wait for the big moments. Acknowledge day-to-day progress—completing a project, having a productive meeting, or even sticking to your gym schedule.
Practice gratitude regularly
Gratitude journals or even simple daily reflections can increase long-term happiness by shifting focus to the present.
Set intrinsic goals
Instead of fixating on external rewards (titles, income), aim for goals aligned with personal growth, purpose, and values—like becoming a better listener or mentoring someone at work.
Be present with the process
Mindfulness can help you find fulfillment in the act of working toward a goal, rather than delaying joy until it’s reached.
In today’s hyper-competitive world—where job titles double as status symbols and social media amplifies achievements—the Arrival Fallacy is more prevalent than ever. But real, lasting happiness isn’t hidden at the finish line. It’s woven into the process, the progress, and the present.
By shifting focus from outcomes to experience, you can trade short-lived highs for a more grounded, fulfilling kind of success. Because sometimes, the journey is the destination.
Edited by Rahul Bansal
