The Savoring Practice
Convert positive experiences into positive emotions through six trainable skills
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 80%
Savoring is the process of converting positive experiences into positive emotions, and Bailey stresses it is a trainable skill, not an automatic result of good things happening. Because the brain's presence network is anti-correlated with its acquisition network, practising savoring literally strengthens your ability to switch out of chasing-mode into the here and now, which makes focus easier. The practice starts with a savor list of everything you love, from a cup of tea to an album to time with your partner, then a deliberate daily rep of one of its sub-skills. Those sub-skills are luxuriating, gratitude or thanksgiving, marveling, anticipation of the future, reminiscence of the past, and mindful enjoyment of the present. Research he cites shows men and wealthier people struggle with it most, precisely because of the acquisition mentality, which is why deliberate practice matters.
Origin
Bailey drew this from the psychological research on savoring he encountered while writing How to Calm Your Mind, and built it into a daily practice alongside his wife.
Core principles
- 01Experiencing something positive does not mean you will enjoy it
- 02Savoring is the skill of turning positive experience into positive emotion
- 03Presence and acquisition are opposing networks you can learn to switch between
- 04You can savor the past, the present, and the future
- 05Driven and wealthy people find savoring hardest and need it most
How to run it
- 1
Build a savor list
Write a list of everything you love to enjoy: a cup of tea, time with your partner, a good book, a fireplace, an instrument, a favorite album.
Pro tip If you are highly driven and the question 'what do you savor most?' stumps you, that is the sign you most need this list.
- 2
Luxuriate in the present
Soak in a physical pleasure the way a cat soaks in the sun, fully giving your attention to the sensation.
- 3
Practice gratitude daily
Recall three things you are grateful for each day, for example as a ritual before sleep.
Pro tip You will not run out; with practice you can list ten a day.
- 4
Marvel at something
Deliberately feel awe at something visual, such as snow through a window, using your whole field of view.
Pro tip Seeing through your full peripheral vision adds a bonus calming effect.
- 5
Savor the past and future
Reminisce by reliving a positive memory for a few minutes, and anticipate by counting down the days to a coming event.
Pro tip Counting down to an event lays down memory traces that make the experience more enjoyable when it arrives.
In the wild
Bailey and his wife developed a ritual of recalling three things they are grateful for every night before falling asleep. When people ask whether they run out of things, his answer is emphatic that they never do and could easily list ten each per day. This one sub-skill of savoring became a durable daily rep of switching into the presence network.
→ A simple nightly practice that reliably converts the day's experiences into felt gratitude.
Common mistakes
Assuming good experiences enjoy themselves
Drinking an amazing cup of tea does not mean you will actually internalize and enjoy it. Without the deliberate skill of savoring, positive experiences pass through without generating positive emotion.
Using it to paper over a real problem
Savoring is a presence skill, not a fix for a fundamentally bad job or toxic relationship. Those need to be pulled out by the root, not savored around.
Is it for you?
Best for
Driven, accomplishment-focused people who rush past good moments and cannot name what they savor.
Not ideal for
Situations where the real problem is a structurally bad job or toxic relationship that needs uprooting first.
From the transcript
“having a saver list which is just a list of everything you love to enjoy”
“just because we experience something positive does not mean that we'll enjoy it”
“whether it's luxuriating Thanksgiving marveling anticipation reminiscence or just mindfully enjoying something in the moment these all count”
From the episode
How To Stop Feeling So Burned Out - Chris Bailey - #569
Chris Bailey