Spring may be coming to visit, but in the meantime, we're living with winter. For many of us, this means that right about now, it would be nice to have extra ammo to fight off the cold weather doldrums, short days, and other assorted elements that make this generally a 'blah' time of year. If February were a restaurant, it would not have achieved high Yelp reviews from many of us.
I present the 'happiness bump' as a solution to consider. First, some background starting with the fact that I can't take credit for the term, which goes to Dr. Laurie Santos (Dr. S), a cognitive scientist and professor of psychology at Yale University.
Dr. S is well-established as an expert in the field of happiness, and a partial list of her credentials includes teaching a course at Yale called 'Psychology and the Good Life,' which has become the most popular class in the past 300 years (yes, Yale is very old) with about 25% of students enrolling and another 4 million taking it as an online class. Additionally, Dr. S has a podcast called 'The Happiness Lab,' which is in Apple's 'Top 3' and has over 100 million downloads. Popular Science recently recognized her in the 'Brilliant 10 Young Minds'. Put simply, when Dr. S talks about happiness, she knows her stuff, and people listen.
Source credentials established, let's talk about what this' happiness bump' is and how we can incorporate it into our lives. The basic premise is simple: planning a trip is one of the most consistently reliable ways to bring sustained mood enhancement benefits. Below are some of the reasons why:
Anticipation- One of Dr. S's points is related to the happiness statistics on 'the booking boost,' specifically associated with booking a flight for a future trip. 73% of respondents derive mood-enhancing benefits by doing that simple act. Still, even if a flight isn't in your budget, the same principle applies if you book a motel room somewhere for a summer road trip or even confirm plans to stay at an out-of-town friend's house. The concept is that once we have that plan for a trip locked in, we immediately begin to reap the rewards of looking forward to it, whether it's a month away or a year. In fact, the further in advance you make the plan, the more time you have to enjoy the anticipation. Closely related, the data clearly shows significant happiness benefits related to planning the trip, talking about it with friends and family, and researching the destination and local activities to do once you've arrived.
Travel beats trinkets- When it comes to how we spend our money, getting the most happiness bang for our buck makes experiences an easy win over buying more stuff. From a scientific perspective, the reason for this is related to what's called 'hedonic adaptation,' an SAT term that means while we enjoy the act of buying, for example a new pair of shoes, the novelty rapidly wears off, and the happiness dissipates with it. This is a fundamental differentiator of experiential happiness; it's the gift that keeps on giving. We get the benefits of anticipating the trip, experiencing it in the moment, and afterward through recollections and happy memories. If you're interested in learning more about the data around experiential vs. material happiness, take a look at the link for an article in Science Direct on the subject: Experiential Happiness - ScienceDirect
Social benefits: A great quote says, "It's not what we have in our lives, but who." As a social creature, we crave connection but often lack enough of it, and loneliness is a commonly cited factor in the growing percentage of Americans who have reported worsened mental health in the past five years. I wrote about this topic specifically a while back, but the topic and tips remain equally relevant today. A Friendly Reminder About Friends
Statistically speaking, most of us do not take vacations by ourselves, which means that in addition to the pre-and post-happiness bump that travel brings, we also reap the rewards of additional time spent socializing with those we are closest to and often making new connections. Keeping in mind that every friend starts as a stranger, it's easy to see how returning from a trip with the start of a new friendship can factor in to making vacation travel a consistent performer in increasing our long-term happiness.
To use a diet analogy, shopping may be fun, but like processed junk food, the enjoyment is short-lived and leaves you hungry shortly after. Planning (and taking) a trip is like a meal with plenty of protein that will sustain your happiness for the long haul. Safe travels and be sure and let your mind wander before the trip!
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