I have been interested in happiness for as long as I can remember. My first blog post in May 2008 referenced lyrics from the song Happy by Natasha Bedingfield. When I first heard of Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project, I started reading her blog. I later got the chance to meet Gretchen when she was at my local Indigo store in Toronto, promoting The Happiness Project book launch in February 2010. You can read my blog post about it here.
I read her follow-up happiness books as she released them, learning and implementing thoughts and actions to live a happier life. Eventually, I wasn't writing or reading blogs as much. I tried to get into podcasts but the ones I listened to (my husband's favourites on road trips) although entertaining and informative, weren't captivating me. In December 2018, in my search for better podcasts (for me), I saw Happier with Gretchen Rubin on a list of top podcasts. I was so out of the Happiness Project loop; I hadn't realized that she had started a podcast in 2015.Serendipitously, as I began listening to her podcast, I learned she was offering The Happiness Project Experience which was starting a few days later. I signed up for the online course and community as a great way to celebrate the New Year 2019. To help with accountability, we could sign up to be placed in small groups. I mention this because I still FaceTime weekly with two of the friends I met virtually through that course.
I have been listening to Gretchen Rubin's podcast Happier and The Happiness Lab podcast (with Dr. Laurie Santos) for years. What a surprise to see that The Happiness Lab podcast was going to be recorded live in Toronto with Gretchen as the guest for the Hot Docs Festival. I only saw it advertised a few days before the event on Gretchen's social media, so I'm happy there were still tickets available.
The theme of the podcast was Gretchen's new book Life in Five Senses. I especially love this topic because the senses are so important in relation to our memories.
When I was in Hawaii, just before the pandemic, I purchased products to use on so when I use them at home, I'm reminded of being in Hawaii. I inadvertently experienced this on my honeymoon when I bought expensive (and amazingly scented) sunscreen. It reminded me of my first Caribbean trip when I smelled that sunscreen for years - until they changed the scent.
In the Science of Well-Being course, I learned about hedonic adaptation:
"Hedonic adaptation refers to the notion that after positive (or negative) events, and a subsequent increase in positive (or negative) feelings, people return to a relatively stable, baseline level of affect" (Diener, Lucas, & Scollon, 2006)
With the Hawaiian product example, what this means is that it feels amazing at first, but if we were to use it every day, it would lose its positive effect. I still have that incredible feeling when I smell it, because I do so sparingly.
Looking at this another way, one of Gretchen's "personal commandments" is to "spend out". By this, she means to use things up instead of hoarding and trusting in abundance. I learned the benefit of spending out the hard way after a Caribbean trip in 2016. I bought extra bottles of resort shampoo and lotion that we loved to use during our stay. On my return home, I used them so sparingly that eventually, the product deteriorated and it didn't smell as great as it did on holiday.
It's a fine line between "spending out" often enough, but not too often so that it loses its magic.
I loved seeing two of my favourite happiness experts sharing the stage. After the initial introduction of Gretchen's book, they answered questions from audience members. The podcast episode entitled "Ask Us Anything! Laurie and Gretchen Take Your Questions (Live From Toronto) was posted on The Happiness Lab Podcast on May 30th. Click here to listen.
I am enjoying reading Gretchen's Life in Five Senses and being reminded to use all of my senses to create happier memories.
In saying that, though, I disagree with Gretchen regarding her Five Senses Quiz. After taking the quiz, we discover our "neglected" sense. She believes we can raise our happiness by exploring the sense that we use the least. She shares tips on how to explore this sense.
I believe that it's our neglected sense for a reason and my happiness level would better increase by exploring the senses that are my favourite. Receiving the tips for my neglected sense after taking the quiz was disappointing for me. It did not tempt me to try them.
Looking at her list of 50 Tips to Get Out of Your Head Using Your Five Senses on her website, I am most excited to try the tips that feature sight, smell and hearing. They're my top 3 senses, or as Gretchen calls them, my foreground senses. Click here to read her post about foreground and background senses. She believes that bringing all five senses into the foreground increases our happiness.
I prefer to explore my favourite senses by trying new experiences; and to better appreciate my neglected senses by noticing what I love about them (rather than exploring new things). I haven't finished the book, so I should probably give Gretchen's way a try. Since I am most interested in memories, using all five senses for memory keeping may be of better use for me, rather than everyday happiness.
Gretchen always says that what works for one person doesn't necessarily work for another person, so there's also a good chance that I will find that I prefer it my way; to focus more on my preferred senses.
