What makes you happy? Whatever the answer may be, it certainly varies between people. Some have higher expectations, whereas others get intense joy from very minimalistic things. Our level of contentment differs and we all have a bliss point, which we can hack.

Happiness Bliss Point

What we also need to know is, what is happiness? Well, an objective definition would be: a mental or an emotional state of well-being, which is governed by positive emotions. It’s the state of mind, in which we’re extremely satisfied with our mode of being.

Happiness itself is subjective, it isn’t something that can be prescribed or taken like a pill, but needs to be attained. You can’t level up from misery to happy like in a video game. Well, if you ate some of the mushrooms Mario had, then you might. But I digress.

The bliss point definition goes as such: the specific amount of satisfaction or stimulation, in which happiness is optimized. It’s the perfect volume of magic fairy dust, that makes you content and happy. Any more, or slightly less will tip you off balance and isn’t as great anymore.

Bliss Point Food

Michael Moss’ bestselling book Salt, Sugar and Fat talks about how the food corporations have tricked their consumers into getting addicted to their products.

Their market researchers and food engineers are trying to figure out the exact amount of an ingredient, such as salt, sugar, or fat, that would optimize palatability and reach the bliss point.

The pioneering work in this field was done by a psychophysicist Howard Moskowitz who created and optimized food from spaghetti sauces to soft drinks. He describes the bliss point as: “that sensory profile where you like food the most.”

The reason why we crave these 3 ingredients is that evolutionarily they’re the most precious sources of calories. Salt is essential for life, sugar gives us instant energy and fat is a viable back-up supply. Our subconscious mind can’t help but to motivate us to consume as much of them as possible.

Too Much to Handle

The problem with this is that, unless you’re aware of it, you’ll easily fall victim to your unconscious urges. What’s more, if your bliss point is too high, you’ll never be satisfied enough.

If your taste buds are under the constant stimulation of processed food and refined carbohydrates, then you’re habituating your mind to be content with nothing less.

After a while, you get used to your current bliss point and need to take it to the next level again. You now have to eat, but you’ll also be craving something sweet to drink as well. It’s like a junkie who wants to get another hit.

Of course, there’s a huuuge difference between the jolt you get from vegetables and pastry. One puts you on a blood sugar high and makes you want more, whereas the other nourishes you and keeps you satiated.

The main issue with having too high of a bliss point isn’t about health or consuming too many calories. Much rather, it has to do with values and your mindset.

High vs Low

This bliss point doesn’t apply only to food, it can be found in almost anything else as well – clothing, relationships, sex, entertainment, fast cars, money, fancy houses etc.

There’s nothing wrong with having a high bliss point, it’s just that it can become our downfall. If we aren’t able to be content, then we will never be truly happy either.

More sugar, louder parties, another caffeine jolt, faster cars, bigger houses with more and more stuff we don’t actually need. Constantly trying to get more and more stimulated will leave us chasing rabbits and running like hamsters inside a wheel.

On the other hand, if your bliss point is lower, then you’ll get incredible joy from even the smallest of things. You can get immense amount of enjoyment from something so trivial, such as pure water, clean food, less stuff and quality, not quantity relationships. Paradoxically, your happiness increases, as your bliss point decreases.

How to Hack Your Bliss Point

This doesn’t mean that we should start living like monks inside a monastery, or become enlightened zen-masters enclosed inside a cave. Instead, we should learn how to hack our bliss point, so that we could get more joy out of less.

The bliss point is a measure, in which the amount of stimulation is just perfect. Anything more or slightly less will not be optimal. At the same time, tipping off that balance isn’t detrimental either, as we begin to appreciate the bliss point exactly during its absence.

There are several strategies we can use to first lower our bliss point, and then to maintain it at the desired level, without overstimulating it.

#1 Fasting

The quickest and surest way to liberate yourself from the stimulating effect of processed food is to do strict water fasting for at least 2-3 days. During that time, your taste buds will reset themselves and your mind will begin to appreciate the presence of food.

If you’re eating all of the time, you won’t be able to free yourself from its effects. The best way to get rid of dependency, is to simply re-condition yourself and become independent. This will re-conceptualize hunger and changes your relationship with food.

After breaking the fast, you’ll know how fortunate it is to even have a mouthful. Even healthy food will taste amazing, because your palate has been reset, enabling you to be extremely satisfied with less.

#2 Gratitude

Being thankful every day and expressing your gratitude to others is an incredible mind hack. More often than not we fail to realize how lucky we all are. Being alive is already quite an amazing thing, not to mention living exactly in this day and age.

Realize how well off you are, how many loving relationships you have and make sure to let them know. Appreciate everything that happens to you and don’t take nothing for granted. You’ll be amazed how much happier you’ll become.

#3 Mindfulness

If you’re being aware of where your bliss point lies, you’ll be able to always adjust it. Only you know what satisfies and makes you happy.

Eventually, the bliss point will increase by default. Every sensory experience, even the healthiest of kind, will start to add upon itself and builds in height. Repeated actions that yield a positive response motivate us to keep doing them in the future.

By periodically abstaining from the activities that make us happy, we can reset our bliss point and lower our palate. You only know what a good meal tastes like, after you haven’t had one for a long time.

Not just in food, but in general. Even having a roof over your head and lying on the floor feels incredibly cozy, in comparison to sleeping outside in the rain. After sniper school, everything in life just felt that much more beautiful.

#4 Minimalism

Having less stuff and following a minimalist approach in life is a great way to prevent your bliss point from ever reaching too high levels.

If you have a lot of clothes to choose from, then you’ll probably want to get even more of them. Shiny shoes, fancy jackets, another gadget, a new car and on and on ad infinitum.

We don’t even realize that in reality we’re not even using most of our stuff. When was the last time you wore that shirt, which you “had to have.” Do you really need shoes for Monday, Wednesday, the gym, walking the dog, for school and for going to the mall to buy even more stuff etc.

By default, we’re hoarders. “It was on sale” and “…you might need it in the future.” More is not better, as it will begin to clutter our houses, our minds and activities, that takes away from what’s more important.

There’s nothing wrong with getting new stuff. Just get rid of the old ones before you do and don’t buy things you don’t really need. Get enjoyment from less material things.

Aim for a Lower Bliss Point

Hopefully you can see the benefits of having a lower set bliss point. The quality of our lives will actually increase and our values improve.

It starts with food, but can be applied to anything else as well. Our taste buds and palate are exactly there, where we’ve habituated them. Being used to stimulating food teaches us to not be satisfied with anything less.

That’s why I practice some form of intermittent fasting almost every day. It detoxifies the body, cleans the mind and nourishes the soul.

On top of that, I also follow a ketogenic diet, which is the 5th strategy. The food eaten might seem bland and with not a lot of flavor to some – vegetables, eggs, meat, butter with no candy, pastry, potatoes, or even fruit.

Actually, I love it, because it keeps me healthy, satiated and mentally sharp. The feeling and energy I get is incomparable with the small rush of sugar you get from processed carbohydrates. I would recommend everyone to try it at least once, so that they could reset their taste buds and see where their palate really lies.

If you want to try out the ketogenic diet, then check out my free e-book called Simple Keto. You’ll also receive another e-book Body Mind Agoge, which will help you to hack your bliss point and start living a more enhancing life.