Experience It!
It’s 5pm and you’ve had a rotten day, you’re stressed, and you want something. Wine? Ice cream? A new pair of shoes? How many times do we turn to some form of consumption when we need a pick-me-up? And how often does it really work?
Research conducted out of the University of Texas, Austin, suggests that we are actually happier when we spend our money on experiences, rather than things. They conducted 2 studies, with over 7000 participants, and found that people find more pleasure in experiences than in their possessions.
The study authors also concluded that happiness is felt before, during, and long after the event, while the pleasure we feel with consumption wanes quickly. They suggest that the reason people experience more pleasure and satisfaction with experiences rather than purchases is due to “the endurance of experiences in people's memories, while the perceived value of material goods weakens over time.”
Researchers working for Goodthink, a positive psychology consulting firm, found that just planning a trip can decrease stress and improve happiness. “This ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ often has a long-term mood-boosting effect and can help us relax as it puts us in the mind frame of a more soothing future.”
New or novel experiences can be especially effective at improving our mood.
“There is a connection between novelty and happiness”, Dr Laurie Santos, cognitive scientist and Yale professor. She says that novel experiences stimulate the reward centers of our brain, and maybe more importantly, increase our mindfulness. When we experience something new, we are more present in the moment, which improves our mood.
Researchers in New York and Miami tracked subjects via phone GPS and texted regularly to ask about their moods. Subjects reported feeling happier when they were exploring new areas in their towns. The researchers concluded that “the experience of novelty, or going to places you had never been before, actually seemed to have an even larger association with positive emotion on that day.” And they found that the increase in mood could last for several days.
Putting this information into practice: if we channel our attention towards experiences rather than things we may find ourselves in a better mood, with more money in our bank, and less inches on our waistline! The good news is that the experiences don’t have to be big or profound. Simply observing the things around us from a new lens can create mood boosting results.
This week’s Unwinder Challenge: Experience It!
Creating experiences, new or familiar, doesn’t have to take much time. Whether you have 5, 10, 15 minutes or more, you can plan, and experience something every day!
Plan a trip: Spend as little as 5 minutes a day researching trip ideas, planning out the details for a future experience. The time you spend planning is just as mood boosting as the trip itself
Plan an outing with a friend: just coffee on an outside patio, a hike, a movie, lecture or community event
Explore a new place: this could be walking through a different neighborhood, trying out a different trail for your regular hike, driving a different way home from work to experience new places, eat at a restaurant you’ve never tried, etc
Try something new: Try cooking something completely different than your typical fare, play around with a new instrument, read a book in a different genre, listen to new music, find a new board game to play with your family, etc.
Take time to observe the things you might normally miss. Spend a few minutes looking into the sky and observing the clouds, watch the birds in the trees, pay attention to the other people at the park, etc.
Novel experiences can make our brains more resilient, even improving our cognition as we age. Find ways to do this on a regular basis and you will find more enjoyment in life!
Resources:
Spending on doing provides more happiness than spending on having
The anticipation of travel can boost mood
Vacation planning and happiness
Doing something new increases happiness
The 5/10/15
Fuel, Energize, Unwind - on Your Time