Dec. 3, 2023

3 Mindful Minutes: Savouring

The player is loading ...

Finding ways to plumb the joy out of positive experiences can help to build resilience when things aren't going well.Connect with Cass:www.crappytohappypod.comhello@crappytohappypod.com
www.instagram.com/crappytohappypod www.tiktok.com/crappytohappypod
Join the free 7-day Happiness Challenge:www.cassdunn.com/happiness

Connect with Cass:

www.cassdunn.com
www.instagram.com/cassdunn_xo

Contact Crappy to Happy:

Email: hello@crappytohappypod.com
www.crappytohappypod.com
www.instagram.com/crappytohappypod
www.tiktok.com/@crappytohappypod

Are you a coach, therapist, service provider or solopreneur struggling with self-doubt and imposter syndrome? I'd love to talk to you! (for market research purposes only!)

Book a call with me to share your experience.

Want more great content and less ads?

Upgrade to Paid in the Spotify or Apple podcasts App to get immediate access to "Beyond Happy", the subscriber only podcast featuring bonus content, meditations and more!

Transcript

WEBVTT

1
00:00:04.360 --> 00:00:08.359
Hey, I'm cast doun A, my psychologist, coach, mindfulness meditation teacher,

2
00:00:08.759 --> 00:00:12.039
and author of the Crappy to Happy books. Welcome to

3
00:00:12.119 --> 00:00:16.120
another three mindful minutes. Today, I want to talk about

4
00:00:16.440 --> 00:00:20.920
the idea of savoring. Savoring is a term that is

5
00:00:21.079 --> 00:00:26.920
used to describe maximizing your appreciation of good things and

6
00:00:27.359 --> 00:00:32.960
pleasant experiences as they're happening. When you savor an experience,

7
00:00:33.200 --> 00:00:37.359
you fully immerse yourself into that experience. You become very physically,

8
00:00:37.439 --> 00:00:43.240
mentally present, emotionally present, and bring your whole self to

9
00:00:43.359 --> 00:00:47.479
that experience. It's kind of like plumbing the joy out

10
00:00:47.479 --> 00:00:52.039
of the moments, the positive experiences as they're happening. We

11
00:00:52.119 --> 00:00:55.240
get very busy, we're very distracted. We're rushing around doing

12
00:00:55.240 --> 00:00:58.359
a thousand things, and we can often miss opportunities to

13
00:00:58.439 --> 00:01:02.000
be really present, especially when things are going well. We

14
00:01:02.079 --> 00:01:04.799
can savor the taste of the food that we're eating,

15
00:01:05.079 --> 00:01:07.959
a conversation that we're having with a friend. We can

16
00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:11.120
savor a beautiful sunset, just the feeling of the warm

17
00:01:11.159 --> 00:01:15.319
sunshine on your skin. There's loads of opportunities to savor

18
00:01:15.560 --> 00:01:19.000
pleasant experiences, and by doing that, what you do is

19
00:01:19.040 --> 00:01:23.959
you build a buffer against potential negative experiences that might

20
00:01:24.079 --> 00:01:27.959
happen and likely will happen. Our brain is heavily biased

21
00:01:28.040 --> 00:01:34.879
towards focusing on and remembering difficult and painful and unpleasant experiences. Therefore,

22
00:01:34.959 --> 00:01:37.319
it's on all of us to do what we can

23
00:01:37.480 --> 00:01:41.599
to counteract that negativity bias by turning up the dial

24
00:01:42.120 --> 00:01:47.359
on positive experiences and emotions when they happen. You might

25
00:01:47.400 --> 00:01:50.159
think that this sounds just like mindfulness, and it is,

26
00:01:50.400 --> 00:01:54.159
but there are some fundamental differences. When we are mindful,

27
00:01:54.319 --> 00:01:57.079
we are bringing our full self and bringing our full

28
00:01:57.120 --> 00:02:01.640
awareness to the moment. But even when that moment is unpleasant,

29
00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:05.439
we can be mindful of our own anger, our fear,

30
00:02:06.040 --> 00:02:08.759
our anxiety. We can be very present to how that

31
00:02:08.759 --> 00:02:10.599
feels in our body, to what are the stories that

32
00:02:10.639 --> 00:02:13.439
we're telling ourselves in that moment. That is mindfulness. It's

33
00:02:13.479 --> 00:02:18.919
turning towards instead of turning away from difficult or unpleasant experiences.

34
00:02:19.360 --> 00:02:23.840
And while we can equally be mindful of positive and

35
00:02:24.360 --> 00:02:28.960
joyful experiences, which is essentially what savoring is, mindfulness is

36
00:02:28.960 --> 00:02:32.360
all about what is happening right now in this moment.

37
00:02:33.319 --> 00:02:36.599
So the other difference between mindfulness and savoring is that

38
00:02:36.639 --> 00:02:41.439
you can also savor experiences that aren't necessarily happening in

39
00:02:41.520 --> 00:02:46.520
this moment. You can savor really happy memories. You can

40
00:02:46.759 --> 00:02:51.000
reminisce about positive experiences or times in your life. Bring

41
00:02:51.120 --> 00:02:54.520
to mind how that felt, how good that felt, feel

42
00:02:54.520 --> 00:02:57.280
that in your body, Bring all of those positive, pleasant

43
00:02:57.280 --> 00:03:00.400
emotions up in this present moment, even if that moment

44
00:03:00.479 --> 00:03:04.000
is not happening right now. Equally, you can savor the

45
00:03:04.039 --> 00:03:07.240
anticipation of something that you're looking forward to. And this

46
00:03:07.360 --> 00:03:10.240
is not about wishing your life away, but is about

47
00:03:10.319 --> 00:03:12.840
when something good is coming up, something that makes you

48
00:03:12.879 --> 00:03:16.800
feel excited or joyful or optimistic, that sense of anticipation,

49
00:03:17.360 --> 00:03:22.000
all of those really positive, pleasant emotions. Savor those as well.

50
00:03:22.599 --> 00:03:25.840
Rick Hanson is a psychologist in the United States who

51
00:03:25.840 --> 00:03:29.960
wrote a book called Hardwiring Happiness, and here really emphasized

52
00:03:29.960 --> 00:03:33.120
this idea of savoring as a way to rewire your

53
00:03:33.159 --> 00:03:35.960
brain so that it is more likely to default to

54
00:03:36.039 --> 00:03:40.479
positive emotions, particularly if you have a very strong negativity bias,

55
00:03:40.520 --> 00:03:43.240
and you know that you have a tendency to default

56
00:03:43.360 --> 00:03:47.680
to negative or uncomfortable or painful thoughts and feelings. So

57
00:03:47.719 --> 00:03:50.800
I would have really encourage you to find moments that

58
00:03:50.840 --> 00:03:54.960
you can savor. This requires you to slow down, to

59
00:03:55.039 --> 00:04:01.840
get really present, and to really intentionally maximise the goodness,

60
00:04:02.280 --> 00:04:05.000
the positive feelings. How does it feel in your body,

61
00:04:05.360 --> 00:04:07.599
What are the positive thoughts that you're having, what are

62
00:04:07.599 --> 00:04:10.479
the positive emotions? Who are the people that you really appreciate,

63
00:04:10.879 --> 00:04:15.280
Get really present, really just have the intention of plumbing

64
00:04:15.439 --> 00:04:19.600
the joy where there is joy to be found. I

65
00:04:19.680 --> 00:04:21.759
hope that that is something that you can take forward

66
00:04:21.839 --> 00:04:26.040
into this Christmas season, the festive season, especially when although

67
00:04:26.079 --> 00:04:29.759
there often plenty of good things happening, plenty of joyful experiences,

68
00:04:29.759 --> 00:04:32.839
it can also be a time that is difficult and stressful.

69
00:04:33.079 --> 00:04:35.920
So if we can find the opportunities to tap into,

70
00:04:36.120 --> 00:04:38.920
to really tune into and dial up the volume on

71
00:04:39.000 --> 00:04:42.360
those positive experiences, I hope that really helps you to

72
00:04:42.399 --> 00:04:46.000
get as much joy as possible out of this season.

73
00:04:46.480 --> 00:04:49.680
Thank you for listening to today's three Mindful Minutes. Obviously

74
00:04:49.759 --> 00:04:52.720
full length episodes of my podcast, Crapy Are Happy come

75
00:04:52.759 --> 00:04:56.120
out on Wednesdays. You'll hear more from me and from interesting,

76
00:04:56.240 --> 00:04:58.720
inspiring guests that I talk to that will help you

77
00:04:58.800 --> 00:05:02.360
feel less crappy and more happy. If you enjoyed this episode,

78
00:05:02.399 --> 00:05:04.399
please make sure you give us a follow so that

79
00:05:04.439 --> 00:05:06.639
you never miss an episode, share it with your friends,

80
00:05:06.680 --> 00:05:08.879
and if you would give us a five star rating

81
00:05:08.879 --> 00:05:13.120
and review on Apple or Spotify, that would be absolutely amazing.

82
00:05:13.199 --> 00:05:15.319
I can't wait to catch you next week for another

83
00:05:15.480 --> 00:05:16.879
three mindful minutes

3 Mindful Minutes: Savouring

New to Crappy to Happy?

How to cultivate unshakeable self-confidence

Do you have an "Upper Limit Problem"?

Reclaiming Happiness: Why Every Woman Needs a Passion Project

Dispelling Myths About Menopause and HRT with Dr Louise Newson (Part …