savouring

Savouring, also spelled savoring, is the deliberate process of attending to, appreciating, and prolonging positive experiences in order to enhance enjoyment and well-being. It involves cognitive attention, emotional engagement, and often behavioral choices that extend the impact of a positive event rather than simply experiencing it.

Savouring can be applied to a range of experiences, including sensory pleasures such as taste, smell, and texture, as well as social interactions, achievements, and memories. People typically use several strategies: anticipating future positives, fully engaging in the present moment, reminiscing about past joys, and sharing the experience with others to amplify the feeling.

In positive psychology, savoring is treated as a skill that can be cultivated. It emphasizes mindful attention to positive aspects, deliberate amplification of the experience, and social or cognitive prolongation of pleasure. Savouring is distinct from passive pleasure or rumination; it is a constructive engagement with positive experiences that aims to extend their positive effects.

Practical techniques include focusing on detailed sensory cues (what is seen, heard, tasted, or felt), slowing down to lengthen the experience, journaling or mentally replaying positive moments, practicing gratitude, and sharing positives with others. In the context of food, savoring involves slow tasting and noticing aroma, texture, and aftertaste to intensify enjoyment.

Benefits commonly associated with savoring include higher well-being and life satisfaction and increased resilience. It is typically viewed as a complement to coping with life’s challenges, rather than a substitute for addressing difficulties.