Awe, what a beautiful and mysterious emotion! It’s that feeling you get when you look out across the moor on a clear day or watch a stunning sunset in the evening.
According to leading scientist Dacher Keltner, who researches the health and societal impacts of awe, “one simple prescription can have transformative effects”. He encourages people to “…look for more daily experiences of awe”.
When life is busy and we are stressed, it is really easy to forget how awesome nearly everything is, and even amazing things can start to seem mundane or go unnoticed.
Here are some of the incredible benefits that regular awe can induce:
- Improved mood and enjoyment of life
- Better critical thinking
- Decreased materialism
- Increased sensations of humbleness
- Increased generosity
- Better connection to other people
I don’t know about you, but I’m certainly going to allow more awe into my daily life; I was totally blown away by the potential benefits.
If you’re interested to find out more about this topic, I was very inspired to write this short article by a podcast I listen to called Diary of a CEO; the guest was scientist Dacher Keltner.