Tap into a sense of wonder by focusing on the small things around you, on a nature walk or city streets
- Study participants who did regular ‘awe walks’ where they focused intently on their surroundings felt more joyful and grateful, and less distressed
- By training ourselves to appreciate better the world around us, in the city or in nature, we can cultivate similar feelings of awe, experts say
Taking the time to stop and smell the roses really could be the secret to happiness, according to new scientific research exploring the emotional benefits of an “awe walk”.
A recent US study invited a group of older adults to take weekly 15-minute solo strolls termed “awe walks” for eight weeks, with instructions to tap into a sense of wonder by focusing on the details of their surroundings. When compared to a control group, these walkers experienced greater awe, joy and other positive “prosocial emotions” such as compassion, gratitude and admiration during their walks.
Selfies taken at regular intervals along the way revealed that the “awe walkers” began to exhibit a “smaller self” during their strolls – suggesting that they began to see themselves as smaller in relation to the wider world – and experienced greater feelings of social connection.
Over time, they also noted more significant increases in daily prosocial emotions and bigger reductions in daily distress, even when they weren’t walking.
So how can we cultivate awe, which is typically associated with breathtaking vistas and once-in-a-lifetime experiences, in everyday situations?
