Savoring pleasant moments was linked to greater happiness when positive experiences were scarce. Digest
A pleasant event can be brief, and the good feeling it creates can fade just as quickly. A study examined how savoring a positive experience related to happiness in everyday life.
For 30 days, 101 volunteers, aged 17 to 53, were asked to complete one diary entry at a randomly prompted time each day. They rated pleasant experiences during the preceding hour, combining how frequent, intense, and impactful they were. They also reported how much they had savored those experiences by sharing their positive aspects with someone, feeling grateful, or focusing more closely on the moment. Questionnaires before and after the diary period assessed whether participants generally tended to amplify or dampen their enjoyment of positive experiences.
- People felt happier at moments when they reported more savoring.
- The link between savoring and happiness was strongest when positive experiences were limited. When pleasant experiences were abundant, more savoring did not clearly add happiness compared with less savoring.
- People who habitually made the most of pleasant experiences reported more happiness, while those who tended to mentally diminish them reported less.
Savoring directs attention toward the enjoyable parts of an experience. Gratitude emphasizes what was positive, while remembering and sharing can bring the experience back into awareness after it has ended. Rather than creating another pleasant event, these practices may extend the feeling attached to the original one.
You just missed this in your inbox
Every other week our Premium Members received this exact study plus Rhonda's practical commentary and 8+ other hand-picked papers.
The pursuit of happiness may not require a steady stream of new pleasant events. Sometimes, savoring even a small pleasant moment may be enough to draw more happiness from what is already there.