46. Boost Your Mood with Savoring [Back to the Future style]

In this episode, we're working on our element of Savoring. First: There will be some solid Back to the Future references (obviously). Second, this type of savoring can sometimes be more accessible than past and present savoring for those dealing with depression. Third, this type of savoring (along with past and present) is associated with a mood boost. It's definitely worth your time.Tune in for how this works and two simple ways to practice savoring the future.

 

Key Takeaways:

• Savoring the future is not avoidance or denial. It's instead a conscious skill we can engage in to shift mood and make what we savor more likely to occur.
• Mental time travel... sound fun? Learn how in this episode!
• Proactive savoring is what we're learning how to do here. It's different than reactive savoring (which is great as well). With proactive savoring, we're self-generating the experience and positive state that arises. This puts savoring into our control.
• What often keeps us from savoring? Judgement. We're often focused on looking for what's wrong and comparing.
• Our imagination is extremely powerful in creating our day-to-day world.
• We act as if we're just reacting to the world around us, but what if the world is actually reacting to us?
• A simple savoring strategy is to imagine four plausible and positive scenarios that will happen to you tomorrow. Assess your mood before and after if you like, and try to write down these scenarios in a journal.

 

Links and Sources Mentioned:

• Joy Lab Program (step-by-step practices to help you build and maintain the elements of joy in your life)
• Classic book on Savoring (Bryant and Veroff)
• Current Progress and Future Directions for Theory and Research on Savoring (2021)
• Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life (Amy Krouse Rosenthal) 
• Amy Krouse Rosenthal's website
• Does savoring increase happiness? A daily diary study
• Up-regulating positive emotions in everyday life: Strategies, individual differences, and associations with positive emotion and well-being
• Back to the future: the effect of daily practice of mental time travel into the future on happiness and anxiety
• Consciousness of subjective time in the brain
• You May Want to Marry My Husband (Amy Krouse Rosenthal)
• Seven Notes on Life- Amy Krouse Rosenthal (her talk starts 5 minutes in)

 

Full transcript available at: https://www.naturalmentalhealth.com/podcasts/joy-lab-podcast/episodes/2147840457