Welcome to the Good Life Chronicles, where living a good life takes center stage.
Let’s talk about pleasure; not the big, Instagrammable kind, but the small, ordinary, everyday kind we almost always rush past. Because a Good Life isn’t built out of rare, refined experiences. It’s built out of tiny moments we choose to elevate (and notice the word: Choose).
This week, mine came in the form of a pizza.
Yes… pizza.
I have a weakness for Pitfire, the pizza chain growing more famous by the day in Dubai and known for its pizza box art and support of local artists. I don’t eat it often — deliberately — because I want to keep the excitement intact. I want it to feel special. And every time it arrives at the table, I make a small sound of joy (you know the one)… “yeahhhhh,” as if something extraordinary just happened. And in a way, it has.
It’s not the pizza that makes the moment meaningful.
It’s the way I experience it.
When it’s placed in front of me, I pay attention. I smell it first. I admire the colours. Then I begin the ritual: the hot chili oil, the chilli flakes, the salt — all the things I should probably avoid, but can afford because my blood pressure is wonderfully low. Then, that first bite. Slow. Intentional. Absorbed.
(A little piece of heaven on a plate - with chilli peppers! Yes!)
This is savoring: one of the most powerful, research-backed ways to increase happiness. Not by seeking more, but noticing more. Not by chasing new pleasures, but by appreciating the ordinary ones with stronger attention.
Savoring works because it expands time. It heightens emotion. It brings the mind and the senses back to the present, the actual reality in front of you, after a day of rushing, scrolling, and thinking about things that haven’t happened yet and probably never will. It shifts you from being in your life to actually experiencing it.
And here’s what most people misunderstand:
Pleasure doesn’t just happen to us.... We have to make it.
We have to intentionally enhance ordinary moments, a morning coffee, a hot shower, a walk to the car, that first bite of dessert, or yes, pizza. When we add meaning to them, we create emotional punctuation marks in our day. These moments become anchors, small pieces of evidence that life is good in ways that don’t require travel, big money, or major life changes.
Here’s how you can elevate the ordinary this week:
1. Pause before you begin.
Smell the coffee. Feel the cup. Look at your lunch before you inhale it. Notice the colors. Feel the anticipation.
2. Add something.
Your favourite seasoning, your nicest glass for a midweek drink, your favourite chair, disco beats, which amplify the pizza experience and get you moving in your chair. “Pleasure” often comes from the details we add.
3. Stay with the moment.
A few seconds are enough. That tiny stretch of attention is what signals to the brain: this matters.
Savoring is a skill. And a Good Life is built from a thousand tiny moments like this, not just the big ones we wait for, and which happen less often.
So tell me: what ordinary pleasure will you elevate this week? Share it in the comments here or below depending on your platform. Remember to sign in to leave a comment.
While you’re here!
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Have a great week and remember: Life is short, what you do with it matters.
xx
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