Savor!
According to Webster, Savor is defined as to delight in, enjoy. When was the last time we really enjoyed a moment? Reacted with a belly laugh? Experienced a genuine gratefulness for a loved one’s embrace or delighted in the scent of a flower?
A physician friend often reminds me: “No one’s gotten out of here alive, so enjoy life’s moments!”
There is much social research on the human behavior ingredients for happiness. Multitasking is not among them. Actually, the concept of multitasking is a farce but the attempt is commonplace. According to study after study, our brains are not designed to multitask.
However, our brains and therefore our emotions are designed to react to various stimulus. Happiness, as well as other emotive results, can be highly influenced by environments or behaviors. For example, music and art evoke a variety of emotions, like chills (goose bumps or shivers) or tears (joy or sadness).
The following list includes attributes guaranteed to increase our happiness quotient. The happiest people:
- Devote a great amount of time to their family and friends, nurturing and enjoying those relationships.
- Are comfortable expressing gratitude for all they have.
- Are often the first to offer helping hands to coworkers and passersby.
- Practice optimism when imagining their futures.
- Savor life’s pleasures and try to live in the present moment.
- Make physical exercise a weekly and even daily habit.
- Deeply commit to lifelong goals and ambitions (e.g., fighting fraud, building cabinets, or teaching their children their deeply held values).
- Last but not least, the happiest people do have their share of stresses, crises, and even tragedies. They may become just as distressed and emotional in such circumstances… but their secret weapon is the poise and strength they show in coping in the face of challenge.
“Happiness always looks small when you hold it in your hands, but let it go and you learn how big and precious it is!” -Maxim Gorky