In The Science of Well-being, Dr. Laurie Santos tells us:
“First off, what is savoring? Well, it’s just the simple act of stepping out of your experience, to review it, and really appreciate it while it’s happening. Why should we take time to savor? Well, it turns out savoring can boost our mood in at least three ways. First, savoring can thwart hedonic adaptation. It can make us remember the good stuff in life. Second, savoring can help thwart mind wandering. It keeps us in the moment. And finally, savoring can help us increase gratitude. It can make us thankful for the experiences we’re having as we’re having them. How do we make the most of the savoring activity? Well, first off, you just have to take part in a positive experience, and then you have to savor during that experience. Take a second to realize why it makes you happy. You can use your phone to help you by taking a picture which will help you remember it later. Then track what you savored today. As we’ve seen, tracking can help turn savoring in one moment into a habit. So get out there and savor something good. Go out and really enjoy the best things in life.”
Savoring lets us thwart hedonic adaptation, thwart mind wandering, and increase gratitude.
Savoring this idea’s writing and the cute kitty in my 30-minute meaningful work time block made me grateful for the work of Dr. Laurie Santos, Dr. Robert Emmons, Dr. Sonya Lyubomirsky, Brian Johnson, and new friends.
