Savoring

According to Fred Bryant and Joseph Veroff (2007), savoring involves noticing and appreciating the positive aspects of life – the positive counterpart to coping. Savoring is more than pleasure – it also involves mindfulness and “conscious attention to the experience of pleasure” (p. 5). You can savor vicariously, enjoying another person’s pleasure.

There are numerous savoring processes that regulate other positive experiences (p. 14): to name a few:

• Marveling regulates awe.
• Thanksgiving regulates gratitude.
• Basking regulates pride.
• Luxuriating regulates physical pleasure

Savoring occurs in various timeframes. We anticipate future pleasures, experience present pleasures, and reminisce about past pleasures. People are different in their preferences for future, present, and past savoring. If you particularly enjoy anticipating, start planning early so that you have lots of time to think about a future event. If you particularly enjoy reminiscing, keep pictures and reminders to revisit past pleasures. Mindfulness is important for experiencing present pleasures to keep attention focused.

	PPND articles that exemplify Savoring
By Doug Turner: Savoring for your health!
By Gloria Park: The Delight and Discontent of Eating
By John Yeager: The Digital Scrapbook/Portfolio: Self-reflection, Savoring, and Well-being
By Derrick Carpenter: On Adventure and Filet Mignon Mozart and Minidiscs
By Bridget Grenville-Cleave: Making Space for Children’s Well-being
By Miriam Ufberg: On Contentment On Savoring
By Iris Marie Bloom: The Power of Touch beyond Pain and Pleasure Nature and Nocturnal Themes in Positive Psychology
By Angus Skinner: Just ‘Cuz its Automated Don’t Make it On Time
By Amy Donovan: Positive Psychology, Party of Two
By Aren Cohen: How Anticipation Can Save the Day

Other references on Savoring

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

Sonja Lyubomirsky Lyubomirsky, S. (2007). The how of happiness. New York: Penguin Group. Happiness activity 9 is Savoring Life’s Joys (pp. 190-204).

Chris Peterson Peterson, C. (2006). A primer in positive psychology. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Chris Peterson includes an exercise on savoring on pp. 70-72.

Paul Rozin Rozin, P. (1999). Food is fundamental, fun, frightening, and far-reaching. Social Research, 66, 9-30. Available here. Rozin, P. (1999a). Preadaptation and the puzzles and properties of pleasure. In D. Kahneman & E. Diener & N. Schwarz (Eds.), Well-being: The foundations of hedonic psychology. (pp. 109-133). New York, NY, US: Russell Sage Foundation.

Martin Seligman Seligman, M.E.P. (2002). Authentic happiness. New York: Free Press. Chapter 7, Happiness in the present, describes a number of ways to amplify enjoyment of the present through savoring.

Amy Wrzesniewski Paul Rozin Wrzesniewski, A., Rozin, P., & Bennett, G. (2003). Working, playing, and eating: Making the most of most moments. In C. L. Keyes & J. Haidt, Flourishing: Positive psychology and the life well-lived, pp. 205-224. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.