In this BIT: Change your perspective and how you feel by understand how to slow down. Below, discover incredible studies about what awe is, and how to feel it daily.
Last week I was walking to my car after a long day, head down, thumbs already typing a reply to a text. Then I looked up. The whole sky had turned this ridiculous shade of peach and pink, the kind that you might imagine seeing only on Pinterest. I stopped. Right in the middle of the parking lot, keys in hand, for maybe thirty seconds.
Nothing about my day had changed! I was still tired, a bit overwhelmed from the busy day, and looking forward to a tasty dinner at home. However, I felt lighter driving home, like someone had subtly turned the volume down on everything I’d been stressing about. I took a second to slow down, and it had a lasting effect on my evening.
So, I got curious about why such a tiny moment could do that. Science has a name for it: awe.
When we hear “awe,” we might picture the Grand Canyon or the northern lights. Researchers define it more simply. Awe is the feeling you get around something bigger than yourself, something that makes you pause and go “whoa.” A sunset counts, a song that gives you goosebumps, or the way a tree turns fully gold in September.
You can find it on an ordinary Tuesday! You just have to look up, and change the perspective of your mindset.
Virginia Sturm and her colleagues asked a group of older adults to take a 15-minute walk once a week for eight weeks. Half of them got one extra instruction: look for things that amaze you.
During their walks, the awe walkers felt more joy and more compassion as the weeks went on. Something carried over into the rest of their lives too. In daily check-ins, they reported growing feelings of warmth toward other people and less distress.
My favourite part is the selfies. Everyone snapped a photo on each walk. Over the eight weeks, the awe walkers took up less of the frame and filled more of it with the world around them. In fact, their smiles got measurably bigger too.
If you constantly feel behind, this one’s for you. You can change how you feel! Melanie Rudd, Kathleen Vohs and Jennifer Aaker found that people who had just experienced a moment of awe felt like they had more time available. They felt less impatient, said they’d be more willing to give their time to help someone else, and reported higher life satisfaction in that moment.
There’s an intriguing link to physical health as well. Jennifer Stellar’s team found that people who felt awe more often had lower levels of IL-6, a marker of inflammation, and awe showed the strongest link of any positive emotion they measured. A study like this can’t tell us whether awe caused the difference, so nobody’s promising that a sunset will fix your immune system. However, it’s still a lovely hint that wonder and wellbeing travel together.
How can you slow down? In fact, you can try the activity below!
Once this week, take a 15-minute walk with one goal: find something that makes you say “whoa.” Slow down. Leave your headphones at home. Go somewhere slightly new, even if it’s just a different street. Look around, and look closely. When you find your moment, stay with it for a few extra seconds before moving on. The people in the study walked alone, so try your first one solo. After that, bring your mom, your kid, or your best friend along and compare what each of you noticed. Think back to the last time something stopped you in your tracks. In fact, you probably remember exactly where you were standing.
More of those moments are out there, hiding in plain sight on your regular route. It’s possible to change how we feel by changing what we focus on. All in all, we hope that this BITS post changes your perspective and reminds you to focus on the Small Bits of Happiness in daily life.
For more happiness check out our Mood Boost page.
Featuring quick videos created for teens by teens.
References
Rudd, M., Vohs, K. D., & Aaker, J. (2012). Awe expands people’s perception of time, alters decision making, and enhances well-being. Psychological Science, 23(10), 1130-1136.
Stellar, J. E., John-Henderson, N., Anderson, C. L., Gordon, A. M., McNeil, G. D., & Keltner, D. (2015). Positive affect and markers of inflammation: Discrete positive emotions predict lower levels of inflammatory cytokines. Emotion, 15(2), 129-133.
Sturm, V. E., Datta, S., Roy, A. R. K., Sible, I. J., Kosik, E. L., Veziris, C. R., Chow, T. E., Morris, N. A., Neuhaus, J., Kramer, J. H., Miller, B. L., Holley, S. R., & Keltner, D. (2022). Big smile, small self: Awe walks promote prosocial positive emotions in older adults. Emotion, 22(5), 1044-1058.
Explore incredible research on how to change how you feel and how to slow down. Additionally, discover what is awe and more about how to change your perspective.
