Creating Memories That Stand the Test of Time: A “Happy Moments” Book Review

A Book Review – Happy Moments: How to Create Experiences You’ll Remember for a Lifetime

By Meik Wiking

What is this book about?

“Happy Moments” is a light-touched and insightful book that teaches you how to create experiences that last. While creating experiences may sound straightforward, there are actually guidelines that you can follow. This book serves as the perfect guide, sharing with you these principles.

Meik’s background is quite interesting. He is the founder and works at the Happy Research Institute in Denmark, which, as the name suggests, focuses on studying how and why humans experience happiness. Through years of research, he has discovered that a significant part of happiness is connected to creating lasting memories.

Meik’s book consists of 8 chapters, including an introduction and a conclusion. It spans 238 pages.

The links for purchasing the book are paid links via Amazon which we may receive commissions from qualifying purchases.

Who is this book for?

“Happy Moments” is a book for those who want to learn how to create joyful experiences and transform them into lasting memories. Meik provides numerous practical examples and tips to help you craft memorable moments that are worth cherishing for a lifetime.

This book offers a casual reading experience, best savored in a cozy café with a delightful cup of coffee. It is well-written, easy to read, and easy to comprehend. As you read, you will undoubtedly experience a sense of well-being, thanks to Meik’s light-hearted touch of humor.

3 Important Lessons to Creating Experiences that Last

The author offered many practical advice to us throughout the book on how to create lasting experiences. Among all the knowledge shared, three lessons in particular stood out. In this post, I will now share them with you.

1. Harness the Power of the Firsts

This heading is quite self-explanatory. Essentially, it suggests that the first time we try something new is always the most memorable.

Do you remember your first kiss? Do you recall the first time you held hands with your partner? Can you recollect the moment you stepped onto the stage to give a presentation? And what about the time when you delivered a thank-you speech to your parents during your wedding?

Interestingly, these memories effortlessly find their place in our minds. This is because the initial experience of trying something new is inherently the most emotional. The more emotional an event is for us, the more vividly we can remember it.

By understanding this principle, you can effectively utilize this valuable tip to create lasting memories for yourself. The approach is remarkably simple: just be brave and try out new things at all times!

Trying new things for the first time doesn’t always have to be adventurous. It doesn’t mean you need to go skydiving, bungee jumping, or riding a motorcycle, for instance. It can be as simple as taking a stroll in a new neighborhood that you’ve never explored before.

Be bold to take that first step and try new things for the first time!

The act of trying out new things will enrich your senses and hence your memories.

2. Invest Attention

Meik advised that you should treat your happy moments like how you would treat your date. In other words, it means being fully present and engaged in the moment.

To illustrate this point, Meik offers a simple analogy using a Sherlock Holmes story. In the excerpt, Holmes questions Watson about whether he has ever counted the number of steps on the stairs leading to a room they have walked up and down hundreds of times. Watson admits that he hasn’t paid attention to such details. Holmes then remarks that Watson is “only seeing stuff, but not observing stuff”.

What does this mean?

The story highlights the importance of paying genuine attention if we want to remember something.

Merely seeing the stuff does not help you register it in your brain. It is utterly important that the more you wanted to retain certain memories, the more you need to pay attention to details of such event or occurrences.

You will need to invest real attention to the event. Examples would include paying attention to how the event has originated, how was the process, how does the event transform and how do you feel?

The more attention you invest, the more details you can retain, and the more likely it is that the happy memories will endure.

3. Create Meaningful Moments

According to Meik, there are two crucial components that contribute to meaningful moments: connections and milestones.

Firstly, Meik emphasizes that some of the most meaningful and memorable moments are associated with our connections with other people.

As social beings, our lives are intertwined and dependent on one another. Therefore, our happy memories are often intertwined with these connections.

For instance, sharing a delicious ice cream with your spouse or embarking on an exotic trip with your closest friends can create lasting impacts due to the meaningful connections they represent.

Another key component that Meik highlighted is reaching milestones in life.

Have you ever experienced the process of trying to recall a particular memory and mentally traveling back in time to locate it? At these instances, the milestones you reached in life act as anchor points, providing references for your recollections.

These milestones themselves serve as meaningful moments that you can create for yourself.

For example, when you finally reached a certain promotion in your career. Or say you gave birth to your first baby.

These are all great and meaningful moments which we can create in our lives, which will cause long lasting happy effects in our brain.

Conclusion

When I first flipped through this book at a bookstore, one page in particular caught my attention.

The sentence that caught my eye was “A happy life is a purposeful life”.

I was so moved by this sentence.

Most of us work our way out in life simply to seek happiness. During the process, at some point in time, we may come to the realization that a life filled with purpose is what truly brings us the greatest happiness.

At the end of the day, material possessions cannot be taken with us when we pass away. However, our memories will endure and have a lasting impact on the beloved people surrounding us.

With that in mind, I wholeheartedly encourage you to read this book and create unique experiences that will last for a lifetime.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post, and I look forward to connecting with you again in the next one.

Read “Happy Moments”

The links for purchasing these books are paid links via Amazon which we may receive commissions from qualifying purchases.

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