What is Savouring and how do we do it?
Savouring is the term used to describe enjoying or appreciating something pleasant to the full, especially by lingering over it.
But wait a minute – you might be thinking – doesn’t Christmas already go on for long enough without lingering over it even more?
Yes, you may well be right. But there are lots of aspects of the season that we could be getting more enjoyment from but that presently pass us by each year, lost in the general busyness, stress and mayhem of trying to achieve whatever we think we need to achieve and keep happy various family members with different needs and expectations.
We can savour past, present and future events and all of these have their benefits but today I’m focusing on how to savour the present.
Bryant and Veroff (2007) first defined savouring when looking for a term to describe the ability to attend to the process of enjoyment and thereby increase our level of that enjoyment. This includes internal and external experiences, so we could enjoy having a thought about a loved one as much as we enjoy eating a mince pie for example.
Once we have become aware of the experience of pleasure, (i.e. ‘I am noticing that I am enjoying this sunset’) we start to enjoy it more. This requires a level of mindfulness, Bryant and Veroff concluded, which is why it is a good topic for us to explore.
When mindfully savouring an experience, several things happen which are beneficial for us, here are just a few of these:
· We become aware of the whole experience including physical sensations
· We can feel gratitude or appreciation
· We are moved to repeat the experience giving us more opportunities to savour
· We produce positive emotions which improve wellbeing, social connection & resilience
· We counterbalance the effects of negative or stressful events
· It boosts our happiness levels even if we don’t have many pleasant events in a day
· We grow our self-esteem & reduce depression and anxiety
· Our relationships improve
So how do we do it?
Well, we can either choose to have an experience to savour or we can notice that we are enjoying something and choose to embed the experience into our brains whilst it is happening.
Choosing to savour:
Choose an activity such as watching a sunset and set aside some time to do this without distractions. Take time to notice the changing colours, feel the air moving on your skin, take in the shapes of birds or clouds. Remind yourself that you are witnessing a once in a lifetime event – this sunset will never be repeated, and each moment it is changing. Remind yourself how lucky you are to be able to witness this event and so on.
Noticing savouring:
Sometimes our mindfulness prompts us to notice that we are having a pleasant experience, and we can then choose to savour this by ‘dialling up’ the experience so that we take in as much detail as possible so that we can relive the experience if we want to in the future.
How does this help us enjoy Christmas?
Obviously, we have to remember that for some of us, Christmas will be hard if we are missing loved ones, and we mustn’t pretend otherwise. We also mustn’t deny ourselves some pleasure if it comes along; even in the midst of grief we need to take comfort in some small ways whenever we get the chance.
But often we simply miss the joyful aspects of Christmas in all the busyness and then realise suddenly that it’s all over for another year. Even if we have a Christian faith which gives us even more reason to enjoy Christmas, it’s still all to easy to fall into the trap of doing too much and missing out on the real meaning of the festival.
There’s a lot going on that we could enjoy if we just remember to. What these things are will differ for all of us, I look forward to winter walks followed by a hot drink surrounded by fairy lights and either a good book to read or friends and family to play games with. I love winter skies and the silhouetted trees and seeing the birds that are revealed when the trees lose their leaves. I also love Carol services and going to church. I like Christmas decorations and recalling where they came from, the smell of spices, lighting candles…there are so many things. The trick is to make the intention to notice and enjoy as many experiences as possible. When you are enjoying something remind yourself, say internally, ‘I’m really enjoying this experience because…’ and list whatever is enjoyable, it could be the company, the environment, the activity, anything at all. The important thing is to name it explicitly so that the mind remembers it.
Here are some savouring activities to try over Christmas:
· Make a note of any pleasant experiences and how you savoured these so that you can use these strategies to offset negativity bias.
· Noting down as many pleasant experiences as you can during a 20-minute walk increases happiness levels in just one week.
· Try and savour one food or drink each day, really relish and appreciate the experience rather than taking it for granted.
· Think of the types of things you really enjoy and aim to fit some of these into your schedule.
· Get creative! Try and find as many different activities as possible to savour over the Christmas period. Make it a fun challenge that will boost your mood and develop your long-term coping skills. They can be simple (having a cup of tea or a bath) or complex (a day out).
If you want to learn more about Savouring and other ways to boost your happiness levels and enjoy life, Dr. Laurie Santos has interviewed some of the top researchers for her podcast and you can hear these here:
You can also follow her fantastic free course on boosting happiness, maybe you could give that to yourself as a Christmas present?
So make the choice to enjoy Christmas as much as you can this year!
Wishing you all the best for Christmas and the New Year,
with love and all blessings,
Natalie x
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