Thanks, Mom! Today, Dr. Bryant is one of the nation’s foremost explorers of a delicious subgenre of happiness research: the art and science of mining the joy and wonder in life’s good moments. And studies show that there’s plenty to savor. Savoring equals happiness: In 2012, Dr. Bryant, along with researchers from New Zealand’s Victoria University of Wellington, asked 101 women and men to keep diaries for 30 days. They recorded “pleasant events” and how much they savored or squelched them. Savorers got more pleasure by stopping to focus on a good thing, telling someone else about it, or even screaming in delight or laughing. Wet-blanket types killed the joy by carping that it could have been better, they didn’t deserve it, or it was almost over. Ultimately, adept savorers got the biggest happiness boost out of pleasurable moments. Being good at savoring raises your spirits the most when you really need it. In a 2012 Washington State University study, people going through tough times got bigger mood boosts from savored moments than people whose lives were packed with positive but unsavored experiences. The skill set for good savoring is one part little-kid wild abandon (hooting, hollering, jumping up and down—it’s the whoopee! side) and one part mature wisdom (the “carpe diem—smell the roses while you can, because it’s good for you” side). Dr. Bryant says that some of us are better at one part of that, some at the other. How do you learn to savor? Go on a “savoring adventure,” he recommends. “It could be anything—a walk in the woods, a trip into a city, or cooking a meal you love. Then do three things: (1) Beforehand, really anticipate how wonderful it will be. (2) During the experience, focus on all the sensations and feelings you’re having. Use all five senses. Be nonjudgmental. Express your emotions—to whomever you’re with or by writing them down later. (3) Afterward, look back on the event. Share it with someone. Turn it into a story. Reminiscing is another important part too.” Of course, you can also adapt that strategy to in-the-moment savoring—give yourself permission to stop and get lost in the wonder. “Savoring can be about awe, about feeling proud of yourself or of a loved one, or about pleasure,” Dr. Bryant says. “It can also open you up to what’s truly meaningful for you.” Just before his mother died after a struggle with ovarian cancer, the two went for an afternoon savoring adventure near her West Virginia home. “We drove into a forest,” he says. “We sat in silence and savored, sharing the things we both noticed with a laugh or a wink. The colors, the rainbow light in the clouds, the wind rippling the creek. We knew it might be the last time, so it was intensely beautiful and precious. It’s a touchstone for me.” More from Prevention: 10 Simple Ways To Improve Your Mood
