During the first two weeks of The Science of Well-Being I completed assessments to establish a “happiness baseline” measurement. At the end of the course I will revisit these assessments as a post-test measure. I learned that gratitude can be even more powerful by savoring life events. In Part 1 of my 3-part self-exploration series I shared Santos comments about savoring.
Santos discusses how gratitude can enhance and expand well-being by taking time to savor and think about (realize) why you are thankful. Savoring is finding the beauty of the moment and being grateful. Savoring is the “simple act of stepping out of your experience, to review it, and really appreciate it while it’s happening”.
Interacting with others, kindness, taking time for self, exploring mindfulness, and thankfulness were the key concepts of weeks 3-5. Below is a summary of the concepts.
Below I share my thoughts and actions related each of the concepts above.
Supporting Research…for those who would like to read more:
Social Connections: Diener & Seligman (2002) Very Happy People
Random Acts of Kindness: Sreenivasan & Weinberger (2017) Why Random Acts of Kindness Matter to Your Well-Being
Exercise: Britt (2019) Can Exercise Make You Happy? Or Does Happiness Help You Exercise?
Sleep: Booker (2013) Good Night’s Sleep Linked to Happiness
Meditation: Shapiro & Shapiro (2014) Mindfulness Meditation is the Direct Way to Happiness
Gratitude: Stoerkel (2020) The Science and Research on Gratitude and Happiness