The Art of Savoring

The field of Positive Psychology.

I love the field of Positive Psychology because they’re curious about questions like, “What’s more powerful, Hope or Gratitude?” I mean, just scanning the titles gives me a spark.

I recently read an article on the art of savoring, which I feel compelled to share. The authors (Fred Bryant and Joseph Veroff, 2007) contend that it’s not good enough to stop and smell the roses. We need to learn to stop and “really savor the experience of the roses.”

I cannot agree more.

Allow me to share their findings with you. I read the article with the intent to make this a daily practice for myself.

To begin, they define savoring as,

“The experience of trying to extract every nuance and association that is contained in the complexity of a pleasurable experience”.

Got it. I can do that.

They went on to define four distinct types of savoring.

1.) Basking

The first type of savoring is basking, which is the act of graciously receiving praise or accolades. This truly is a talent. How many people deflect compliments with the skilled backhand of a tennis pro? I used to be one of those people, before I learned to just shut up and say “thank you”.

2.) Marveling

The second type of savoring is marveling, or losing yourself in the power of the moment. This one I have no difficulty with. In fact, I have marveling down to a science. I marvel all over the place. I marvel in the grocery store, on a neighborhood walk, and one of these days I may just marvel my way right off the highway into a dusty arroyo if I can’t marvel less at the New Mexico sky.

3.) Luxuriating

The third would be luxuriating, or immersing yourself in a particular sensation. I can do that. I can luxuriate with the best of them.

4.) Thanksgiving

And the fourth type of savoring is thanksgiving, or knowing how to express gratitude. I think I do this pretty well. I love thanking people–sometimes I do it too much. But this is one of those things which takes serious self-evaluation, because we’re never as good at it as we think we are. There can never be too much gratitude in life. It powers us. I believe this to my core.

Five ways to boost the art of savoring:

So now that we understand the four types of savoring, the researchers went on to recommend five ways to strengthen or enhance our ability to savor, which are…

1.) Absorption: or allowing oneself to be immersed in the experience.

2.) Sharpening the senses: or focusing only on one sensation while blocking out any others.

3.) Memory building: such as meditating on the memory of a pleasurable experience.

4.) Sharing with others: this, of course, always heightens the experience.

5.) Self-congratulation: this is, according to the authors, “To allow oneself to feel good about having had an experience of savoring, to relish in the experience and even allow oneself a bit of healthy pride.”

Really sweet!

Article reference ~

Bryant, F. & Veroff, J. (2007). Savoring: A new model of positive experience. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.