Ever caught yourself saying, "I’ll finally relax when..."?

Spoiler alert: You hit the milestone, pop the champagne, and then your brain immediately scans the room for the next thing to stress about. Welcome to the Arrival Fallacy—the psychological illusion that reaching a specific goal unlocks permanent bliss.

In reality, we expect an eternal sunset, but we just get a four-minute dopamine spike followed by a new task list. As a therapist, I'm diving into why your brain runs this outdated survival software, and how to stop holding your happiness hostage until you reach an imaginary finish line.