The Art of Making Memories How to Create and Remember Happy Moments

Happiness read of the calendar month: the art of making memories, by Meik Wiking

What practise you lot call up about the day yous got married, or the day you got your first kiss? Once you actually start thinking about, you probably tin can replay a lot of details.

How nigh your starting time twenty-four hour period of high schoolhouse or university? Maybe a niggling harder, but you lot sure can bring dorsum some sensations. And then: how about a random Tuesday in March five years agone, or even final twelvemonth? Unless any of them was a special day, you may not even remember annihilation. Many days in our life turn into blanks without vivid memories.

Merely when we are prompted to tell stories nigh our happy memories, beautiful stories come out. These are the moments that ascertain our life. Eight years ago – when I already started to be intrigued by the puzzle of happiness, but before my TEDx talk or the launch of the weblog – I surveyed some friends and strangers (anonymously) nigh their happy memories*. Later a quick search, I institute the reply sail back in my files. Here are some of the stories:

• Re-discovering a long forgotten postcard from a close friend
• The feeling of an adrenaline high after riding a horse at a very fast stride for a long time!
• Existence on XTC on an amazing technoparty
• Laughing together with my love at a good joke – no matter if we are laughing at ourselves
• Going to a secluded clean beach (preferably either from my favourite ones near dwelling) on my own or with a few close friends. The sea makes me happy:)

* The stories are beautiful, so I am repeating the exercise now. If you want to share your happy memories, please fill up out the form at the end

The art of making memories

I felt inspired to looking back at these stories past 'The Art of Making Memories', by Meik Wiking (the director of the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen). His book touches upon a lot of fascinating inquiry: tricks to remember long strains of data; the manipulation of memories; and nostalgia. But most importantly, he tells united states how we can create happy memories and hold on to them. This is what he found:

• The power of firsts: many memories are about things done for the start time. So how can you lot brand days in your life memorable? By doing something new. Visit a park in a side of town where y'all usually don't come up, or – in one case they're open once more – a museum you haven't been to. And even when you stay at habitation, at that place are plenty of opportunities to cook a new dish. Behold the first apple pie my wife and I broiled together:

• Storytelling: why do people buy souvenirs from their trips? Considering they tell stories that will remind them of the experience. I have a pocket-size showcase with some memory-triggering objects: there is a decorated skull from Mexico that brings me dorsum to the happiness briefing where I met Meik. There are my espresso cups from Lviv and Porto, each carrying streams of memories. Another smashing example is the long forgotten postcard from a close friend the get-go respondent to my survey told me about.

• Emotional reactions: events with strong emotions are memorable. Meik gives the example of a holiday day he planned to spend reading a book, when his friends proposed to go jet-skiing. In those situations, enquire yourself: what will I call up in ten years? Not the book. I applied the same logic a few weeks ago when we missed the last skilift and couldn't ski dorsum to our parking. Instead of ordering a cab (slow, no emotional memory), we walked back through the snowy forest. Information technology was a pocket-sized struggle, only ultimately fun and memorable.

• Meaningful moments: meaning is some other gene that makes an event memorable. Those tin be the big days – weddings or giving birth. Or they can be meaningful because of the time spent with an of import person, like the person quoted to a higher place who was happy laughing with (and of) her boyfriend.

• Invest attending: obviously, no attending = no memory. But it is important: in our daily routine, we frequently behave according to our usual patterns and neglect to notice our surroundings. A 'digital detox' helps: phones are the most devilish distracting devices ever invented. Shape habits to prevent this; for case, when I am exterior in the nighttime I always consciously look out for the moon. Investing attention is also what the people that shared their memories did: they were enlightened of their feeling of adrenaline during a equus caballus ride, the effect of XTC at a technoparty, or the simple beauty of the sea.

This is not the beach of the memory the person shared, but it's one of my happy memories. Concluding week, afterwards working from home, I released my tension through a bike ride and a short walk on my favourite beach.

Happy memories are beautiful to share and to read. If y'all want to share yours, please fill out the form:

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Source: http://www.forastateofhappiness.com/happiness-read-of-the-month-the-art-of-making-memories-by-meik-wiking/

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