What is Savoring?

We have become so accustomed to our daily routines, the faces we see, and the scenery before us that we rarely think to ourselves, “Today, I will appreciate those around me more.” For many of us, life feels stuck on “fast-forward,” leaving us with a succession of quick and blurred views with so little to remember or appreciate. Even with the ability to take in all the visual beauty, we may see without truly appreciating the experience. This is the idea behind savoring, which is defined as any thoughts or behaviors that help generate, intensify, and prolong enjoyment (Bryant & Veroff, 2007). Thus, savoring is the ability to take positive events and interpret them with intent to benefit oneself.

In this module, you’ll gain a greater understanding of savoring and how it contributes to the process of obtaining greater life satisfaction and overall happiness.

How many times have you thought or said to yourself something along the lines of “I will be happy when________” (fill in the blank). Too often, happiness feels like a distant thought, an unattainable goal. We constantly chase after things that await us in the future—-things that we believe will make us happier. Because at the end of the day, we’re all just trying to be happier than the day before. But too commonly, getting our wants only satisfies us for a brief moment (Lyubomirsky, 2008), and then we are back to chasing after happiness. This process usually leaves us wondering if true happiness can be achieved—-if happiness really is within our reach.

Take a minute to think over this question: “Does my happiness depend on external circumstances?” It is easy to think that things like a promotion at work or a new car would make us happier. For a short period of time, achieving or receiving a sought-after thing does increase our happiness, but this boost in our perceived well-being doesn’t last as long as we anticipate (Lyubomirsky, 2008). Once we become used to the new circumstances, our perceived happiness typically returns to its previous state. We find ourselves back where we started. This is a normal phenomenon known as hedonic adaptation. Subsequently, the cycle begins again: a desire, pursuit of the desire, fulfillment of the desire, a spike of happiness, a return to one’s set level of happiness, and then back to chasing the next thing. Though it may seem like hedonic adaptation is a natural barrier to happiness, it served an important purpose in our evolutionary history by prompting our ancestors to seek out new resources and opportunities in a harsher environment than the one in which we now live. Hedonic adaptation is a characteristic of our default wiring, but one that is at odds with savoring. It tells us to chase after things that will elevate our mood. Learning to savor means cultivating the habit of enjoying the positive events and opportunities available to us; usually in this moment, but also in the past or future. 

Three Types of Savoring

There are three types of savoring: savoring the present, savoring the past, and savoring the future (Bryant & Veroff, 2007; Lyubomirsky, 2008). As the three forms of savoring are further explained, think about how each type may serve unique purposes.

Regardless of type, savoring happens in the present (Bryant & Veroff, 2007). Present-focused savoring is the act of focusing in on the positive aspects of the present moment and deeply appreciating them. This enhances and prolongs the experience. Another characteristic of savoring is that it is proactive (Bryant & Veroff, 2007). It is taking the deliberate action of pausing to notice the positive aspects of an experience. Savoring is about conscientiously taking note of the small details that combine to elicit elevated happiness.

Past events are savored through reminiscing. The act of reminiscing helps us to remember past experiences that brought joy by reliving the past in the present moment. Reminiscing about the past plays on nostalgia (Lyubomirsky, 2008). Knowing that the events of the past have ended can foster fondness in remembering. Try this exercise to see how it works: think back to a vacation that you particularly enjoyed. Try to remember all the different sensations you felt—-the temperature, the sounds, the smells, the people, and so on. Take note of all the details in your memory. Even though that particular event may never be recreated, the experience can continue to bring fondness and joy. You might find yourself smiling or even picturing yourself on that vacation. Just because an event has passed does not mean that the happy moments have to be forgotten. Intense joy can come from deliberately looking back and showing appreciation for the events that brought you joy. In fact, reminiscing has been linked to greater enjoyment of life (Bazzini et al., 2007).

The last of the three savoring types is future-focused savoring. Future events are savored through anticipating what’s to come. Knowing that a future event will bring happiness can elicit intense positive feelings in the present moment. As with the other two savoring methods, anticipation is easier for some but more difficult for others. Future-focused savoring is a concept that we are familiar with from our childhood. We can remember the excitement of anticipation before Christmas morning. The ornaments and sparkling lights all added to the excitement. We were savoring the moments leading up to it and all the details surrounding it. Even though Christmas was days or even weeks away, we experienced great joy in the anticipation. Those who struggle to savor via anticipation may feel that the pressure of future happiness is too pressing to experience joy in the present (Bryant & Veroff, 2007). In fact, a preoccupation with achieving happiness in the future may actually detract from being able to take pleasure in anticipating future events (Bryant & Veroff, 2007). Whether the source of our joy comes from the past, present, or future, the important thing is that we are able to be happy now by drawing happiness from wherever we can.

Obstacles to Savoring

Although the idea behind savoring is simple, it takes practice to counteract the normal human tendency to rush ahead to the next thing. There are several reasons that may explain why savoring does not come naturally to most people:

• The bad outweighs the good. Negative events heighten our emotional sensitivity and awareness. It’s natural for people to respond to negative events by exerting more energy on protecting themselves from perceived threats. By nature, negative events and feelings take precedence over positive ones. Such a response is adaptive and much-needed because it keeps us away from future troubles and from falling deeper into present threats. In contrast, positive events don’t require the same degree of attention. The consequences of feeling happy and healthy are not detrimental or threatening. When faced with negative events, we are more likely to become doers, looking for ways to fix the problems that led to the unhappy experiences. In good times, we tend to become receivers, passively letting the positive events take their course. Neuropsychologist Rick Hanson explains that our brains have evolved to be “Velcro for negative experiences but Teflon for positive experiences." The following TED talk by Dr. Hanson explains how the human brain grabs onto negative events more readily than positive ones (also, when you're ready to work on savoring strategies, you may want to come back to the practice he describes for letting the good sink in): 

• Savoring takes vulnerability. Savoring, by nature, celebrates the good in our lives. At a societal level, celebration of self is often discouraged. Years of socialization have taught us to mind others and celebrate their accomplishments rather than our own. For many, it may feel selfish or uncomfortable to take pride in our own accomplishments and joys. The words “I am proud of you” are said more commonly than “I am proud of myself.” Savoring is about taking pride and finding joy in our experiences, not comparing ourselves to others. Contrary to what some may think, savoring may make it easier to celebrate and validate others. Being able to foster the ability to feel good allows us to recognize the good in others because positive emotions connect people, but negative emotions lead to isolation (Germer, 2009). In hard times, we become preoccupied with our own concerns, wondering how we can best bring ourselves out of the hardships. When times are good, you might find that you are better able to bring awareness to the good that happens to others. 

• Savoring is an act of courage. To build on the previous point, savoring requires courage. It takes courage not only to celebrate oneself but also to allow oneself to feel intense joy without feeling guilty. Sayings like, “No pain, no gain” and “Winners never quit” illustrate the societal value on working hard and feeling the weight of working hard. Very rarely, however, are we told to pause, breathe, and truly enjoy all the good that has happened, is happening, and will happen. We have grown accustomed to hiding or undermining our own accomplishments around others out of fear that it may appear arrogant or immodest. Thus, we have come to associate celebration of self as negative. It’s easy to shy away from emotions that provoke initial discomfort. As such, pausing to experience enhanced and prolonged positivity may feel too unfamiliar to enjoy at first. With more practice and a little bit of courage, savoring will likely become very natural.

• Foreboding joy. Joy can be a feared emotion for some. Even when life feels comfortable and is going as we have hoped, a sense of impending doom can arise. It's the idea that "things are going too well, I must be due for some catastrophe." This may stem from an underlying feeling of unworthiness; a subtle sense that we don't deserve to be happy. Savoring requires us to accept that we are worthy of joy. Shying away from joy only diminishes our resilience. Only when we have felt unbounded joy, do we have the strength to pick ourselves up in moments of despair and anticipate the joy in the future.  

• Our brains seek excitement. Humans' natural tendency toward novelty-seeking may be a reason that we tend to pass over the good that’s already available to us. We constantly seek out better opportunities with little recognition that there are ways to prolong and enhance the good that we already have to achieve greater happiness. 

• Habits and patterns that can make us blind. Many of the daily activities that we engage in are repetitive--just part of a routine. We act as if on “autopilot” with little awareness of our actions and experiences. However, we can use the power of habit to introduce regular opportunities to practice savoring (e.g., establishing one meal a week with the explicit purpose of savoring). Please see the Personal Growth module for a further discussion of this topic.