10 Ways to Find More Pleasure Every Day

Go ahead: Indulge yourselI. Top your cone with another scoop oI ice cream. Then check
out these suggestions Ior creating (even more) moments to savor.
By Paul Bloom
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I'm not a happiness guy -- there's nothing new that I can tell you about how to live a
IulIilling liIe. Instead, I am interested in the more concrete topic oI pleasure. What's the
diIIerence? Happiness is a prolonged state oI being that is inIluenced by a variety oI
Iactors, ranging Irom a person's relationships to her religion to her genetic predispositions.
Pleasure, on the other hand, is a purely instinctive reaction with a brieI liIe span: 30
seconds to an hour or two, tops. And while happiness can be elusive at times, sources oI
pleasure are Iairly easy to come by. Read on Ior a host oI unexpected ways to pack bliss
into your liIe.
1. Play that song you love so much. Repeat. As any preschooler can tell you, repetition
nurtures pleasure. When you experience something more than once, you notice more details
about it each time, thereby increasing your enjoyment. That's why you love revisiting that
jazz standard, Iavorite roast chicken recipe and beloved old Woody Allen movie. OI course,
you can overdo it. The eIIect oI repetition on pleasure is an inverted U: You appreciate
something more and more over time until, abruptly, it becomes repellent to you. Which is
why no one you know can bear to listen to that "I get knocked down, but I get up again"
song anymore.
2. Seek out the sommelier. In all areas oI our lives, our sensory reactions are aIIected by
the depth oI our knowledge. Take wine, Ior example. II you want to enjoy it more Iully,
you don't have to shell out hundreds Ior a bottle oI Chteau Lynch-ages; you simply need
to learn about the vino you are already drinking. uy a wine encyclopedia, take a class -- or
head to a restaurant with a sommelier who likes to educate patrons during the meal. You
won't just think about wine diIIerently; you will taste it diIIerently.
3. Don't buy boxed sets of DVDs. Economist Tyler Cowen says that much oI the joy we
get Irom our purchases lies in the experience oI seeking them out, getting them home and
opening them up. II you receive 18 DVDs in one package, you'll use up the buzz all at
once. uy them one at a time and space out the pleasure.
4. Keep your child's baby shoes in your desk at work. You know how you keep a bag oI
almonds in your drawer in case you need an energy boost in the aIternoon? Place
something emotionally resonant there as well Ior the times your mood needs a quick liIt.
Stash a Iew objects that are connected with treasured experiences -- say, that 1997 vacation
to arcelona -- and occasionally take a moment to pick up one oI these items and look at it
closely. Elation is sure to Iollow.
5. Read (or watch or participate in) something that takes your breath away. A recent
study Iound that people seek out newspaper articles that inspire awe -- that hard-to-deIine
Ieeling we get when we're exposed to great beauty, power or accomplishment. This
pleasurable tickle is uniquely human and can be achieved in multiple ways: praying,
watching nature programs and reading stories oI personal triumph, to name a Iew.
Whatever gives you that lump-in-your-throat Ieeling, pursue it any way you can.
6. Look outside. Our species has spent almost all oI its existence on the AIrican savanna,
surrounded by trees, water and sky. The world in which most oI us spend our time
nowadays is unnatural and can corrode the spirit. Even a small dose oI nature elevates our
mood. ut accept no substitutes! Psychologist Peter Kahn Jr. put 0-inch high-deIinition
TVs into windowless oIIices oI Iaculty and staII members at the University oI Washington
in Seattle, then streamed in a live view oI a natural scene. It turned out that these HDTVs
did nothing Ior the participants' physiological stress response. What worked? A window
with a view oI real greenery. y guess is that even a view oI a humdrum landscape, like
the parking lot oI an oIIice building, is more emotionally satisIying than the most beautiIul
travel poster.
. Pet a dog (any dog). You may have heard this beIore, but it bears repeating: Physical
contact with animals works wonders. It increases the brain chemicals associated with
pleasure and decreases those associated with stress. Even people without pets can get some
oI the eIIect by hanging out Ior a Iew minutes at a dog run.
8. Grin and bear it. Isn't it annoying when you're a little blue and your Iriends and Iamily
tell you to smile? Well, like it or not, smiling is a mood booster. Here's why: People react
better to you when you look happy, leading to a reinIorcing cycle oI good vibes. Plus,
thanks to something called "Iacial Ieedback," looking happy (oddly enough) Iools your
brain into thinking that you are happy.
9. Give. Humans are altruistic by nature: II we act generously, we Ieel joyIul. Go ahead and
try it. Go to the website oI a Iavorite charity and make a donation. It doesn't have to be a lot
-- just enough to get a small burst oI pride in your chest.
10. Make the bath as hot as you can stand it. Psychologist Paul Rozin has argued that
people get a kick Irom "benign masochism" -- that is, controlled exposure to low-level
discomIort (think spicy chili peppers and saunas). aybe we love the endorphin rush. Or
just the delightIul contrast when we ultimately escape Irom the pain. Regardless, it pays to
pamper yourselI occasionally with a bit -- but just a bit -- oI suIIering.