Happiness isn’t just a destination, it’s a direction — and four straightforward savoring techniques can help you head that way. Renowned Harvard social scientist Arthur C. Brooks shares ways to trick your brain into feeling happier in the moment.
- Smile intentionally to boost mood through behavioral display.
- Stay present by mindfully recognizing pleasant moments.
- Celebrate positive experiences with others to deepen joy.
What happened
Arthur C. Brooks, a social scientist from Harvard University, recently outlined four savoring techniques that can help elevate happiness swiftly. These methods involve intentionally engaging with positive feelings and experiences to train the brain away from its natural negativity bias.
The four techniques focus on expressing positive emotions nonverbally, being mindful of pleasant moments, sharing joys with others, and vividly recalling or anticipating positive events. Brooks emphasizes how these actions help bring happiness into conscious awareness, enhancing overall well-being.
Why it feels good
Our brains evolved to prioritize vigilance toward threats to ensure survival, which means they tend to fixate on negative information more than positive. This 'negativity bias' can make it harder to enjoy happy moments fully.
The savoring techniques work by overriding this natural wiring. Smiling, being present, sharing happiness, and positive mental time travel activate parts of the brain responsible for conscious decision-making and positive emotion, allowing people to push back against worry and enjoy life’s good moments more deeply.
What to enjoy or watch next
Try applying these savoring techniques in everyday life—start by smiling more, intentionally noting pleasant surroundings, or sharing good news with friends and family. These small acts can surprisingly uplift your mood quickly.
For further insights, explore Arthur C. Brooks’s talks on happiness and savoring on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, where he delves into why savoring is a conscious act of resisting our brain’s default negativity. Embracing this mindful approach offers a meaningful path to greater happiness.