Savouring: the trick for more happiness

Happiness is a state of well-being, satisfaction and fulfillment. But how can we achieve it? We often live our lives hunting for the idea of happiness. Because we believe that we will be happy when something happens. We think that we will gain happiness when a certain moment arrives and we achieve something.

But when this moment comes we do not feel as happy as we expected. So we set our sights on the next objective. This is where the trick of savouring comes in.

What savouring means

It simply means trying to fully feel and enjoy as well as extend our positive experiences. When we live with our sights set on a happier future, we miss the experience of the present moment. In other words, we ignore that occasion to savour the good and positive. With this we waste the opportunity to be happy.

Behaviours that hurt savouring

Sometimes we put spokes in the wheels of our happiness. We do not savour the good moments. That means we do not squeeze them out and lose an opportunity to feel good and happy. Which are those behaviors of not savouring:

Pessimism

You remind yourself that good cannot last. Instead of experiencing the moment, you already think that it will end soon anyway. Or you may think that it will never be as good again.

Sights set on the future

While you are doing something, you already think about when it ends and what you will do next. You may be having lunch with friends but already think that afterwards you have arranged to meet another person. Or instead of enjoying Sunday you already think that tomorrow is Monday and you have to go back to work. Instead of paying attention to a conversation you are thinking about what you have to do next. There are many examples to not savour the moment because you are already thinking about what comes next.

Lack of satisfaction

Instead of enjoying the moment, you tell yourself that it is not as good as you expected. Maybe you even imagine various ways how it could be better.

Martyr

You tell yourself that you do not deserve the good and beautiful that is happening to you. For whatever reason, you do not think you should enjoy that moment.

Behaviours that enhance savouring

After seeing how we waste good moments with certain attitudes, let us look at everything that helps us savour them more. Which are these behaviors that allow us to enjoy more:

Self-love and gratitude

When something nice happens to you, you think how lucky you are. Depending on the situation, you also tell yourself how proud you are. You appreciate the moment and that you can savour and live it. If applicable, you also thank the person or people who have allowed you to live that moment.

Joy

You smile with enjoyment. You laugh heartily. And you spread your joy to others, also improving their well-being.

Mindfulness

You are absorbed in the present moment. You delight in that beautiful moment and enjoy it with full attention. This means that you are fully present and only pay attention to the moment.

Sharing happiness

You are looking to share the happy moment with someone to savour it in company. Or you talk to someone about how good you are feeling or felt. Even thinking about wanting to tell someone later can also make us savour the moment more.

Positive anticipation

When we plan an activity that we like, we feel anticipation and excitement. Thinking about that meeting with friends, that walk in the countryside, going to a museum, theatre or concert or on a trip that we have planned increases our mood. This is savouring the moment that excites us before living and enjoying it.

Creating memories

Not only sharing happy moments with others, in person or by telling them, helps us create memories. You may also want to take photos to remember. But try that they help you savour the experience in the present moment and for later. If you end up more concerned with taking the maximum number of photos or the perfect picture, you might miss the enjoyment of the moment itself. Taking photos for “posturing” on social media does not count as savouring either.

Remembering

Remember the happy moment afterwards, thus savouring it again. Take time to relive those happy experiences. Immerse yourself with all your senses to vividly remember and savour those beautiful moments.

An exercise to boost your happiness

Do you feel low? Have you been living few beautiful and happy moments lately? Do you need to boost your mood and happiness? Then try this exercise. It has shown to lead to a sustained increase in positive emotions for up to four weeks.

For this, remember for eight minutes a day, for 3 days, happy experiences. As if it were a movie, rewind and relive them over and over again. Try to remember happy moments in detail. Use all your sense to remember vivid images in colour, sounds, taste, your emotions… Dive into the memory to savour it.

Do you know how to savour the good moments?

After reading this post, do you think you savour good experiences? Do you give yourself the opportunity to enjoy the moment and make the most of it? Or do you tend to behaviours that thwart the enjoyment?

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