Gratitude savouring is important as so often in life, we spend more time berating ourselves for not reaching our goals, than we do savouring the joy of achieving something great.
Unfortunately, this helps our brain develop a bias towards the negative and thus we have less focus on when things go well. Instead, when something good happens to us we look at it with a critical eye searching for loopholes or evidence why we don’t deserve it.
Savouring is a tool that helps counter this and can be done in three different ways:
- Firstly, you can savour an achievement big or small: Taking a moment (or several!) to savour the fact that you have been offered a promotion at work, someone acknowledged your hard work on a project, you got a kind email from a colleague, completely based on your own skill, perseverance and commitment. Savour how this feels, not letting the joy of achieving something so incredible slip by but rather taking some time to be happy, delighted, ecstatic if needs be about achieving it. Take 90 seconds to bask in the delight of this achievement, smile to yourself, acknowledge the work you put in, tell yourself well done.
- Secondly, you can savour everyday experiences. this can be something ordinary such as the school run, when your child laughs, holding hands with your other half, your dog bounding to greet you happily or you could choose to relish something from your daily routine that you might normally rush through. Your participation in this Kaido Challenge is a fantastic example! Spend at least a couple of minutes reflecting on the experience, trying to feel it as intensely as possible, letting it linger as long as possible.
- Or finally you can savour with your senses. Indulge in your senses and be alive to the joy available to you whether it is in your morning coffee, the scent a candle, your favourite piece of music or the view out of your window. Pay close attention and filter out any extraneous thoughts or stimulation that interferes with you taking delight in this moment. Train yourself to be on the lookout for beauty around you and don’t miss an opportunity to derive pleasure from it.
Writing down just 3 things that you are thankful for at the end of your day can have a hugely beneficial impact on both your health and happiness.
