Smell, Taste and Touch: How to Joyfully Awaken Your Senses
Happiness expert Gretchen Rubin discusses how to deepen appreciation for the senses of smell, taste, and touch. She shares actionable practices like keeping a five senses journal, using scents to evoke memories, and shaping one's environment to enhance daily joy and connection.
Deep Dive Analysis
16 Topic Outline
Re-appreciating the Overlooked Sense of Smell
COVID's Impact on Smell Awareness and Gratitude
The Five Senses Journal as a Gratitude Tool
Using Smell to Create and Evoke Vivid Memories
Neurological Basis of Smell's Strong Memory Connection
Creating a Taste Catalog to Recall Life Memories
Social Connection Through Shared Taste Experiences
Exploring the Sense of Touch and Personal Preferences
Using Touch for Self-Care and Grounding
Respecting Diverse Sensory Preferences of Others
Transforming Environments with Sensory Elements for Well-being
Harnessing All Five Senses for Daily Life 'Hacks'
Practical Application of the Five Senses Journal
The Five Senses Portrait for Insight and Connection
Social Benefits of Shared Sensory Adventures
Finding Transcendence in Ordinary Sensory Moments
4 Key Concepts
Five Senses Journal
A personal practice of noting one standout sensory experience each day, which can serve as an alternative to a traditional gratitude journal and help cultivate awareness and appreciation for everyday life.
Flavor vs. Taste
Taste refers to the five basic tastes perceived by the tongue, while flavor is a more complex sensory experience that combines these basic tastes with the sense of smell, providing a richer and more nuanced perception.
Sensory Worlds
The concept that individuals experience and perceive sensory input (sights, sounds, smells, tastes, textures) differently, leading to unique personal preferences and varied comfort levels in different environments.
Clearing Clutter vs. Clatter
Clearing clutter refers to organizing visual space to reduce distraction, while clearing clatter refers to creating a quiet auditory environment. These distinct practices cater to different sensory needs for focus and comfort.
9 Questions Answered
You can try keeping a 'five senses journal,' where you note one standout sensory experience each day. This practice can naturally lead to gratitude by making you more aware of the world's offerings.
Unlike other senses like sight and hearing, which route through the thalamus, smell goes directly into the temporal lobe, a cortical tissue, allowing it to organize and tap into memories more quickly.
You can consciously choose a specific scent (like a perfume) to wear during a particular period or significant event (e.g., a honeymoon) and then 'retire' it, using it later to evoke memories from that specific past time.
You can create a 'taste catalog' by dividing your life into distinct periods and identifying standout or favorite flavors from each time. Merely thinking about these tastes can help bring back associated memories.
By noticing your preferences for certain textures and sensations, you can consciously avoid uncomfortable sensations and incorporate more pleasant ones into your environment and self-care routines, leading to greater comfort and well-being.
Holding a grounding object, like a pen, mug, or clipboard, can provide a tactile anchor that helps channel restlessness and calm anxiety, especially in unfamiliar or stressful situations.
You can 'hack' your senses by adding pleasant fragrances (like a scented candle or a ritualistic smell like a Sharpie) or by choosing textures in your clothing or environment that make you feel more alert or comfortable.
Beyond traditional shared experiences like concerts or meals, you can create unique sensory adventures, such as a 'taste tour' of a neighborhood, a 'taste party' with friends comparing foods, or trying a 'sound bath' together, to foster deeper connections and shared memories.
By actively tuning into your surroundings and paying attention to sensory details, you can experience transcendent moments even from mundane objects, like an ordinary traffic cone glowing in unusual light, which might otherwise pass unnoticed.
25 Actionable Insights
1. Discover Joy in Ordinary Senses
Challenge the assumption that joy only comes from extraordinary sensory experiences; instead, actively hunt for and appreciate small spots of happiness and awe in the ordinary sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures of everyday life.
2. Actively Notice Your Surroundings
Make a conscious effort to notice the sights and smells, both good and bad, in your daily environment to appreciate your senses more and find wonder in the world around you.
3. Explore Life Through Senses
Emulate Gretchen Rubin’s practice of exploring the five senses to get out of your head and into the world, leading to greater appreciation and joy in daily life.
4. Maintain a Five Senses Journal
Instead of a traditional gratitude journal, keep a five senses journal by noting one standout sensory experience each day (remarkable, notable, distinctive, or unexpected) to foster gratitude and appreciation for the world.
5. Leverage Sensory Preferences Daily
Understand your personal sensory preferences (what you like and dislike across all five senses) and actively use this knowledge to shape your environment and daily activities, thereby enhancing your overall well-being.
6. Optimize Sensory Environment
Actively identify and eliminate negative sensory inputs from your environment (e.g., bad smells, scratchy labels) and consciously add positive ones (e.g., plants, fresh air, scented candles) to enrich your daily experience.
7. Optimize Touch for Well-being
Pay attention to your personal preferences regarding touch and textures, then actively avoid sensations you dislike and intentionally incorporate more of the textures and touch experiences that make you feel good into your daily life.
8. Ground Yourself with Touch
When feeling anxious or restless, hold a comforting object in your hand (e.g., a pen, mug, fidget toy) to provide a grounding touch sensation that can help channel restlessness and promote calmness.
9. Scent-Anchor Future Memories
Choose a specific scent to wear or use during a particular period (e.g., a honeymoon, a significant life event) and then retire it, allowing you to later use that scent to vividly evoke memories from that past time.
10. Catalog Life’s Standout Flavors
Divide your life into distinct periods and identify standout flavors (taste plus smell) from each time; merely recalling these flavors can powerfully evoke memories and connect you to your past.
11. Hack All Five Senses
Consciously utilize all five senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch) to influence your mood and performance, remembering that there are numerous sensory ‘hacks’ beyond traditional methods to improve how you feel.
12. Seek Novel Sensory Experiences
Avoid getting stuck in old sensory routines; actively seek out and try new sensory experiences as part of your daily routine to bring excitement, energy, and a fresh perspective to your life.
13. Respect Diverse Sensory Worlds
Recognize that individuals experience the world differently through their senses; shape your own environment for comfort, but also show empathy and respect for others’ sensory preferences, avoiding dismissal of their discomfort.
14. Customize Sensory Work Environment
Identify your personal sensory needs for optimal focus and performance (e.g., clearing visual clutter, seeking silence, or having background music) and actively shape your environment accordingly, rather than conforming to others’ models.
15. Ritualize Scents for Focus
Establish a personal ‘ritual smell’ (e.g., a Sharpie, a specific candle) that you associate with buckling down or focusing on a task, using it as a sensory cue to transition into a productive mindset.
16. Share Food Memories Socially
Engage in conversations with family and friends about shared food experiences and memories from different life periods to foster social connection and deepen relationships.
17. Host Sensory Social Events
Instead of traditional social events, host sensory-themed gatherings like a ’taste party’ where friends compare different foods, fostering deep social connection, shared memories, and intimate conversations in a fun, engaging way.
18. Craft Sensory Portraits of Others
For someone you know, write down five sensory impressions for each of the five senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch) to gain deeper insight into them, or as a thoughtful gift to make them feel truly seen and heard.
19. Self-Portrait Through Five Senses
Write down five sensory impressions for each of your five senses about yourself to gain profound insight into your own preferences, experiences, and how you interact with the world.
20. Sensory Portraits for Memory
Create a five senses portrait of a loved one (especially one who has passed) to preserve concrete sensory memories and convey them to others, such as children who may not have known the person well.
21. Expand Shared Sensory Activities
Expand your idea of shared sensory experiences beyond traditional activities (like concerts or meals) to include novel options like a sound bath or cryotherapy, fostering new ways to connect with others.
22. Seek Common Sensory Ground
When engaging in social sensory experiences, consider the preferences of others and actively seek common ground or unexpected shared interests, allowing for connection even if individual preferences differ greatly.
23. Consciously Tune In
Engage in conscious practices, like looking for specific sensory details, to help your mind pay attention to everything happening around you, counteracting the brain’s tendency to move things into the background.
24. Simplify Senses Journaling
Maintain a simple five senses journal by briefly noting down one standout sensory experience each day without writing long paragraphs or ranking, keeping the practice easy and fun.
25. Intrigue by Negative Sensations
Approach negative or uncanny sensory experiences (e.g., a terrible smell, an odd texture) with curiosity and intrigue, allowing them to become interesting observations rather than just sources of discomfort.
6 Key Quotes
So often we don't realize how important something is until it's gone.
Gretchen Rubin
But I smell that and I mean, senior year in college just comes back to me.
Gretchen Rubin
People live in different sensory worlds.
Gretchen Rubin
What makes you really feel more seen and heard and smelled and tasted and touched than somebody doing a five senses portrait of you?
Gretchen Rubin
Holy cow, I want to keep smelling it because it's so bad.
Gretchen Rubin
It was definitely one of the most transcendent experiences of my life. And it was transcendent in a very impersonal way. It was like the beauty of nature, pure nature, just like pure form.
Gretchen Rubin
4 Protocols
Creating a Five Senses Journal
Gretchen Rubin- Get a small notebook.
- Each day, write down one standout sensory experience (e.g., 'smoothing tinfoil,' 'remarkably bad garbage truck smell').
- Focus on what is remarkable, notable, distinctive, or unexpected, rather than ranking or writing long descriptions.
- Keep the practice casual, easy, and fun.
Creating a Scent Memory Catalog
Gretchen Rubin (referencing Andy Warhol)- Choose a specific scent (e.g., perfume).
- Use that scent exclusively for a particular period or significant event (e.g., a honeymoon, a specific year of life).
- "Retire" the scent after that period.
- Later, use the scent to consciously evoke memories from that specific past time.
Creating a Taste Catalog for Memory
Gretchen Rubin- Divide your life into distinct 'epics' or periods (e.g., childhood, college and law school, children's childhood, now).
- For each epic, identify standout or favorite flavors (taste + smell) that were distinctive to that time.
- Merely thinking about these tastes can help bring back associated memories.
Creating a Five Senses Portrait
Gretchen Rubin- Choose a person (yourself, a loved one, a deceased grandparent).
- For each of the five senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch), write down five distinct impressions or memories related to that person.
- This practice can provide insight into the person and help preserve concrete memories.