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Holidays are good for everyone, except for one small detail – they end. And no matter how good you feel in the summer at sea, in the mountains or in the countryside, the prospect of returning home to the old routine still adds bitterness to the pleasure. But we can very well prolong the feeling of happiness. A few recommendations.
When you return from vacation, your happiness level drops to exactly where it was before the trip. And psychologist Jessica de Bloom argues that the effect of the holidays is strong, but quickly disappears. Based on research on happiness and the psychology of consumption, we have prepared some tips to help you increase your holiday happiness.
It has been shown more than once that adventures and new experiences bring much more positive emotions than something material for the same money. We are much more pleased to talk about events and impressions than about a new gadget, even if we have long dreamed of it.
“When someone buys experience, he buys himself a story that will become part of his life,” says Amit Kumar, a social psychologist at the Chicago Business School (USA). “So even after the vacation, you will enjoy it, every time you live it while telling stories to your friends.” The psychologist asked the participants to compare their emotions from buying “experience” and buying “things”. “The former are mainly just trips, and they made the participants happier than material acquisitions. This is due to the fact that in the first case we get impressions, which then have great value as a topic of conversation,” says Amit Kumar1.
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- What actually makes us happy?
But not all vacation talk is uplifting: if we compare our purchases with those of others, this can even reduce the pleasure of buying. “So it makes sense to think carefully about your vacation and give yourself an unforgettable adventure each time, which simply cannot be compared with the rest of your friends,” says Elizabeth Dunn, author of Money for Happiness.2. “It will always happen. The sand on someone’s beach is always whiter, and the ski resort is cooler, says Margaret Campbell, a happiness researcher at the University of Colorado. “But instead of worrying that your trip wasn’t unique, focus on the moments that made it unforgettable for you.” For example, a friend could have a larger pool, but only you dived to the sharks.
It is the first days of vacation that determine not only your further mood, but also the impression of the rest as a whole, says Elizabeth Dunn. If the first three days make you smile and warm in your heart, then the whole adventure will evoke such emotions, and if you were annoyed and depressed for the first third of your vacation, then these feelings can overshadow even the brightest experiences. “That’s why plan the first few days of your vacation with special care,” advises Elizabeth Dunn. “When my husband and I flew on our long-awaited vacation to Bali, I booked a spa suite for the first two nights, and then we moved into a regular room. As I packed home and prepared for the XNUMX hour flight, all I could think about was how well I had had that first day on the island.” But that doesn’t mean the end of a trip should be left to chance: “Ending a vacation with a great memory is a great strategy for prolonging happiness.” Book a hot air balloon flight or an exotic tour, in short, let you have something to remember on the plane home. Margaret Campbell adds that the more vacation stories you tell, the longer you stay happy.
Read more:
- How to get yourself back from vacation?
Travel booked in advance brings more happiness than those that happen spontaneously. “It’s all about anticipation,” explains Amit Kumar, “sometimes the most difficult events in life are much easier to endure when you think that soon all your efforts will be rewarded with a great holiday. And the hours we spend imagining future adventures or picking out clothes for a vacation are just as powerful as the vacation itself.”
In short, the main secret to maintaining happiness even after returning home is simple: do not perceive your vacation as a “week of rest” or “a week without work.” Your vacation is an experience, an adventure that you will tell your friends about for another six months, and show photos and souvenirs to your relatives. Do not forget to mentally thank fate that you had such a wonderful time in your life when you felt happy. Even if you got out for only two or three days, there will be enough stories after this weekend to stay happy for a long time.
1 A. Kumar & T. Gilovich «Some «Thing» to talk about? differential story utility from experiential and material purchases», Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2015, в печати
2 E. Dunn «Happy Money: The Science of Happier Spending» (Simon&Schuster, 2014).