Give It Up

Why You Should Try It

Research suggests that one of the biggest challenges to lasting happiness is our great capacity for adaptation: We tend to get used to the things that bring us pleasure in life, and, before long, their positive effects wear off. We no longer enjoy them in the way we once did.

However, research has identified a way to sustain these little pleasures over time: by temporarily giving them up. That can lead us to enjoy and savor that activity more once we resume it—and the ability to savor the small pleasures in life is a key to happiness. This practice guides you through the process of abstaining from a pleasurable activity for a week as a way to heighten your appreciation of it. Over time, the goal is not only to derive more pleasure from this activity but to recognize how we take lots of pleasures for granted and to try to savor them more.

Why It Works

One of the greatest enemies to happiness is “hedonic adaptation,” which is the tendency for people to grow accustomed to pleasurable things and therefore appreciate them less. Temporarily giving up pleasurable activities counteracts hedonic adaptation and can thus increase the pleasure derived from those activities.

Giving something up and then coming back to it later can build anticipation and make the experience feel more novel and exciting. It can also make people more likely to focus on and savor the pleasurable aspects of the experience rather than giving in to distractions. We often assume that more is better—that the greatest pleasures should come from abundance and indulgence—but research suggests that some degree of scarcity and restraint is more conducive to happiness.

Evidence That It Works

Quoidbach, J., & Dunn., E. W. (2013). Give it up: A strategy for combating hedonic adaptation. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 5, 511-516.

Canadian college students (mostly women) who were instructed to give up chocolate for a week savored it significantly more and experienced greater positive mood when they ate it again at the end of the week, compared with people who either indulged in it extra over that week or received no special instructions and just consumed their normal amount.

Who Has Tried the Practice?

This practice has not been extensively studied in diverse groups and cultures.

Keep in Mind

Stress may make it difficult to abstain from your chosen pleasurable activity, given that people tend to indulge in sweets more frequently when they are under stress.

Giving up certain activities may not be worthwhile, or may have negative consequences during the period of abstention. In the United Kingdom, female university students who worked out at least four times a week abstained from exercise for 72 hours. After three days without exercise, the women decreased in pleasure and energy and increased in feelings of tension, anxiety, and dissatisfaction with their bodies.

As you take a break from one activity, there is a risk of compensating with another unhealthy activity. Regular smartphone users abstaining from social media filled their time with other smartphone applications. Regular cannabis users engaged in more alcohol and tobacco use during two weeks without cannabis.

There is also a risk of withdrawal if you are using this practice for certain substances. People who regularly consume caffeine, cannabis, and nicotine products tend to experience physical and mental health disturbances during periods of abstinence.

References

Giving up something good for a while can help us savor it all the more later. Do you have an attitude of gratitude? Take our Gratitude quiz to find out: