Savoring

by Fred B. Bryant, Joseph Veroff

This book is about savoring life―the capacity to attend to the joys, pleasures, and other positive feelings that we experience in our lives. The authors enhance our understanding of what savoring is and the conditions under which it occurs. Savoring provides a new theoretical model for conceptualizing and understanding the psychology of enjoyment and the processes through which people manage positive emotions. The authors review their quantitative research on savoring, as well as the research of others, and provide measurement instruments with scoring instructions for assessing and studying savoring.

Authors Bryant and Veroff outline the necessary preconditions that must exist for savoring to occur and distinguish savoring from related concepts such as coping, pleasure, positive affect, emotional intelligence, flow, and meditation. The book’s lifespan perspective includes a conceptual analysis of the role of time in savoring. Savoring is also considered in relation to human concerns, such as love, friendship, physical and mental health, creativity, and spirituality. Strategies and hands-on exercises that people can use to enhance savoring in their lives are provided, along with a review of factors that enhance savoring.

Savoring is intended for researchers, students, and practitioners interested in positive psychology from the fields of social, clinical, health, and personality psychology and related disciplines. The book may serve as a supplemental text in courses on positive psychology, emotion and motivation, and other related topics. The chapters on enhancing savoring will be especially attractive to clinicians and counselors interested in intervention strategies for positive psychological adjustment.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Personal Development, Self Help, Spirituality

294 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2006

Reviews

[Will Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first time I read a book hopping around. First Chapter 6 then 5 then 2 then scanned 1 skipped 2 & 3. The book is super and very in depth. Loved it. Savoring is an upward spiral to enhanced emotional and physical wellbeing. Some parts are very data driven and some are more narrative in their structure. I got a lot of notes.

Relying on memories to spark savoring is easier and often more profound than using memorabilia including photographs. This is tied to the fact that memory is fuzzy and photographs restrict the memory to the contents of the photograph. “We see what the picture contains, but do not see the details it omits. If thoughts are used to trigger the memory, on the other hand, then we can establish the mental picture and add as many details as we might like. also, thoughts are alway available, stored away in the mind and connected to many aspects of the self. A picture, in contrast, must be physically present to trigger the memory.”

Downward Hedonic Contrast
Reduce adaptation to satisfaction
“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things only hoped for.” — Epicurus

[Vadim · Rating 4 out of 5]

В литературе по психологии активно обсуждается, как люди справляются с неприятностями, и как это лучше делать. Книга Фреда Брайанта и Джозефа Вероффа посвящена противоположному и редкому сюжету -- тому, как "справляться" с приятными событиями, а именно, как их "смаковать".

Базовая теория предполагает, что смакование происходит тогда, когда (1) на человека не давит нужда и требования отыграть социальную роль; (2) когда он сфокусирован на происходящем вокруг них; (3) когда он отдает себе отчет в собственных текущих положительных ощущениях. Книга содержит как советы, которые помогут оказаться в этой ситуации, так и также воспользоваться ей должным образом. В частности, рекомендуется делиться положительными впечатлениями с другими, вести дневник, сравнить текущее положение с прошлым и менее удовлетворительным, подходить к ситуации с юмором, развивать в себе духовность и религиозность, а также отдавать отчет в скоротечности происходящего, заостряя тем самым внимание на нем.

Одна из наиболее практических частей книги -- опросник (таблица 2.3.), посвященный способности смаковать. Он поможет определить, и где вы находитесь сейчас, и что вам сейчас не хватает.

[Sherie P · Rating 3 out of 5]

I ended up not finishing this one, but not because it was bad — it just wasn’t the right format for me (DNF at 20%). There is some genuinely thought-provoking content here. Unfortunately, it reads very much like a textbook, which made it hard for me to stay engaged.

In its defense, this is the only physical book I attempted in 2025 so far — I’m very much an audiobook person, and this wasn’t available in audio. I wanted to give it a fair shot anyway… but ultimately, the academic tone wasn’t pulling me in.

That said, I did appreciate the core idea of savoring:

Savoring is the process of actively deriving pleasure and fulfillment from positive experiences — not just feeling pleasure, but noticing it, reflecting on it, and fully appreciating it.

One quote that stood out:

“When one savors, one is aware of pleasure and appreciates the positive feelings one is experiencing. But by experiencing pleasure, one does not necessarily savor.”

That distinction is powerful. The concept itself is meaningful — learning to slow down, notice good moments, and truly absorb them. I just wish it had been presented in a more conversational, accessible way.

So while I didn’t finish, I’m still glad I tried it. Right book, wrong format for me.

[Mark]

Looks useful but fairly psych science geeky/depth. Cited in Seligman, Flourish.

Had through ILL for a bit but had to return.