One of the best meals I have ever eaten was just an unripened avocado. Pulled off a tree in Peru en route to Machu Picchu, feet dangling off a train bridge at the base of this beautiful wonder. A simple avocado. Or hot dogs when camping with best friends. An almond when “starving” on a long trek. All have something in common: awesome experiences.

Think about eating a granola bar, a boring one, often innocuous and overlooked. But add in an incredible view, exercise, valued company, unique culture, or being totally hangry and the granola bar can transform. Awareness of eating, intention, joy, gratitude, engagement, circumstance, and appreciation of just a granola bar makes for fantastic present moments and memories Savoring is a way of mindfully experiencing a sensation, moment, or experience and later recalling it.

Today was the first real snow of the year in Breckenridge (October 9, 2018). The house was quite chilly, 51 degrees in fact. I walked over to the thermostat, turned the heat on, and presto first-world-magic, and God said, let there be heat. Often this would have been something done with little thought or recognition. But not today. Not with savoring being the topic-du-jour.

Instead of taking this warmth for granted, I savored. Sitting down with my dog, Linus, next to a vent. Smelling the warm air as it came out of the vent, feeling the dust from a summer of dormancy on my skin. Letting the warmth hit my tongue and mouth. Immediately I felt cozier, safer, more at home. Realizing and accepting that many people sleep outside in the freezing cold with no reprieve, I push a button for limitless warmth. Gratitude betakes me. All day I have been more present and aware of the heat, and how incredible it is, my home, my warm home. Choose savoring.

Definitions of Savoring

According to the amazing Psychology Professor at Colorado Mountain College Kimberly Carmitchel:

“Savoring is the use of thoughts to increase the intensity, duration, and appreciation of positive experiences and emotions. A prerequisite of savoring is that we first must be fully present in every aspect of an experience; fully experiencing how our body feels, the details of the experience that made it rich, and then calling up the memory and resting in the experience for a number of minutes.” (2018)

“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” (Bryant & Veroff, 2007)

“Savoring occurs when we deliberately try to enhance the positive – to prolong a good experience.” (Niemiec, 2016)

Savoring appears to be intentionally and intensely experiencing something positive to enhance, deepen, and intensify the positive experience. Subsequently connecting an accessible memory to that experience. Almost like a little memory bank of “awesome” to access a later date.

Quotes on Savoring

Research on Savoring and Mental Wellness

“We found significant relationships between positive events and mood – more specifically, momentary positive events were positively related to momentary happy mood. In addition, as hypothesized, we also found that momentary positive events were positively related to momentary savoring, and momentary savoring responses, in turn, were positively related to momentary happy mood. Thus, it seems that these three constructs are significantly related to each other at a given moment in time” (Jose, Lim, & Bryant, 2012, p. 185)

If a person savors a positive experience or encounter in life, he or she will lead a more enjoyable, fulfilling, and richer life.

Bryant, 2003 & Langston, 1994

See that people. Science.

Related Concepts to Savoring

• Mindfulness
• Intention setting
• Self-awareness
• Sense Engagement
• Presence in the moment
• Gratitude
• Rationing (Great if you are in the midst of a global pandemic, or just want to save money)

How to Better Savor

• Intentionally engage in the experience. “What is needed to savor an experience in a positive way is to engage fully in the experience and to be conscious and mindful of every detail you can take in and to appreciate it fully” (Soots, 2015). Actually try to savor, like on purpose.
• Find specific details. No aspect, observation, or feeling is too small to enhance the experience.
• Use all of your senses. Go through each sense individually and experience it. Taste, scent, sound, site, and feeling accompany all positive experience, seek them. Experience each in your own way.
• Now, go beyond your senses. Memories, spirits, souls, energy, and feelings all go beyond the limitations and shortcomings of senses. Songs, smells, tastes, and experiences go far beyond our present awareness and knowledge.

• Be present in the moment. Even if you can only escape the mind demons for a moment, be there, present for that moment, or series of moments. You have never been in this moment before, and never be again, so savor it now.
• Think about any past memories it creates. Where does the experience take you from the past.
• What story does this experience tell? Who are the characters in the story? Where are you? How old are you? What is going on?
• Who would you like to share this experience with? Think about specific people you want to be here, or people that you wish to bring this experience to. Why would she or he enjoy it? Take a photo, video chat, call someone, or get together and share it when possible.
• Write down the experience. This will help stimulate your ability to recall the event and deepen, prolong, and enhance the savoring experience.
• Be mindful. Be intentionally aware of the experience. Be mindful of breathing and self while experiencing and recalling.
• Focus. Be mentally stronger, challenge yourself to truly focus on what is in front of you.

• Slow down, stop, and positively prolong. Rushing through things does not truly allow you to experience all a situation may have to offer. Stop and smell the roses/bread/fresh air/cookies/pine/whatever. Be slow to be present.
• With food, chew longer. Intentionally and mindfully, slow down your eating. Savor each bite, noticing flavors, textures, feelings, everything.
• Use your “fifty cent words.” Use detail, the best, most accurate, and descriptive words that make your English professor (and mother in my case) proud.

Savoring Activities

• Pick something that you really enjoy. Spend X amount of time (at least 3 minutes) enjoying it. Be intentional, experiencing as deeply as possible, using the tips above and your own ideas.
  • After, write about the experience.
  • What did it feel like? What story was told?
  • What memories did it bring about?
  • How will you use this savoring experience in the future? Here are some suggestions for what to savor, but it is up to you:
    • Favorite foods
    • Music
    • Moments
    • Hugs or physical touch
    • Smells
    • Eye contact
    • Views
    • Petting an animal
• The Fabulous Nicole Fazande has her Positive Psychology students:
  • Tell a family member about the experience
  • Take a photo or collect a souvenir from an experience
  • For a full minute, consider how lucky you were to to enjoy such a wonderful moment
  • Chocolate Meditation: Savoring Life’s Sweetness
• Set the mood and savor.
  • Think about something you really enjoy and value that is accessible to you right now.
  • Set up a wonderful experience, whatever that may look like for your experience. Consider adding in the following:
    • Great music
    • A video chat with a friend (not necessary but could enhance it)
    • Comfy clothes
    • A glass of wine or delicious drink (responsibly, obviously!)
    • Talk or write about what you are experiencing

References, Readings, and Resources

• Bryant, F. & Veroff, J. (2007). Savoring: A new model of positive experience. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Bryant, F.B. (2003). Savoring Beliefs Inventory (SBI): A scale for measuring beliefs about savouring. Journal of Mental Health, 12, 175–196
• Carmitchel, K. (2018). Email correspondence.
• Langston, C.A. (1994). Capitalizing on and coping with daily-life events: Expressive responses to positive events. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 1112–1125.
• Niemiec, R. (2016, February). Being Positive: It’s Not Mindfulness, It’s Savoring. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/what-matters-most/201602/being-positive-it-s-not-mindfulness-it-s-savoring
• Scoots, L(2015, April 18). The Art of Positive Savouring. The Positive Psychology People. Retrieved from http://www.thepositivepsychologypeople.com/the-art-of-positive-savouring/
• Jose, P., Lim, T, & Bryant, F. (2012). Does savoring increase happiness? A daily diary study, The Journal of Positive Psychology. 7:3, 176-187. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/241737020_Does_savoring_increase_happiness_A_daily_diary_study [accessed Oct 09 2018].