essay on happy memories

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Memories Essay – Prompts And Examples To Get You Covered!

What would life be without memories? I guess it wouldn’t even exist, right? Both happy and worse are memories to keep. There is always a lesson to pick up from any memory that you have.

Guess what?

The brain, as small as it may seem, accumulates thousands and thousands of memories. Imagine the big servers stored in a data center – that is nothing compared to your brain.

A childhood memories essay is one most student enjoys when presented with to write. They quickly rush to recounting some of their experiences but forget one crucial aspect. When the deal is too good, then think twice.

Now let’s get down to some writing prompts.

30 Great Memories Essay Writing Prompts

My Childhood Memories Essay

• What was your favorite game with your siblings
• Can you recall a scary childhood memory?
• How was your first walking experience like
• Describe your first day in school experience
• What was your best childhood snack?
• Do you recall your first childhood friend? How did you meet?
• Describe your first toy
• What was your best childhood color?
• Do you remember your first pet?
• Describe your first school bag

My High School Memories Essay

• What life lessons did you learn in high school?
• How was your first experience in high school? Did you find it amusing?
• What new things did you discover and learn in high school?
• Did you send letters to your crush from other schools?
• How was it like attending classes? Did you cut some lessons with your friends?
• What did you feel about high school field trips?
• How or what was your high school farewell song? Do you miss it?
• What capabilities and talents were you able to discover in high school?
• How was it like staying up late to study for exams?
• How did high school change your perception of people and life in general?

Episodic Memories Essay

• Describe your first job experience
• How did you feel when you first visited the beach during summer
• How was your first plane experience? Did you enjoy it?
• Where did you first visit for your valentine’s date with your spouse?
• How did you feel when you first participated in an election?
• Where were you when the tragic September attack took place?
• The movie you saw on your first laptop
• Who was your first roommate on campus?
• Which was your first country to visit overseas?
• How did you feel the first time you moved in all by yourself?

Such memories can be a good start to writing a memories essay of your own. If you think you may not have all the details, don’t torment yourself. You can always ask around from your parents, old friends, teachers, and even neighbors.

An essay on memories should be handled with a lot of caution. Why may you ask? Such an article should be free from biases. It should be objective. And that is where the problem lies.

Luckily, the solution is simple. Learn more.

Structure of a Memories Essay

As of other essays, an essay on memories also has the same structure:

• Introduction,
• Conclusion.

Let’s briefly look at each of these sections.

The Introduction

It is the doorway to your essay. You start by establishing the context of your memories essay, which will act as a hook to your readers. A quote can do well in this case.

For example, “Cakes are special. Every birthday, every celebration ends with something sweet, a cake, and people remember. It’s all about the memories.” Buddy Valastro.

The quote above creates an interest in the reader’s mind and provokes them to poke further into the essay. An introduction ends with a thesis statement.

Example: “memories are truly add meaning to life.”

It carries the significant weight of the essay with supporting examples, facts, and even statistics. It is made up of body paragraphs directly relating to your memories essay thesis statement. The standard paragraph structure of a topic sentence, explanation, examples, and illustrations are followed.

Here is an example of a well-defined body paragraph:

“Those high school outings are my most treasured memories. I recall the moments we boarded the school bus and visit interesting places. I remember how amazing it was putting on my best shirt, set aside for that special occasion. Memories of how we would buy goodies in the mall before heading back to school still linger in my mind. That’s the best part of my school life. It never gave me a frown.”

The Conclusion

Here, you restate the thesis statement and make a summary statement of the memories discussed in the body. You can choose to also conclude with a quote such as the one below.

“Childhood is like being drunk. Everyone remembers what you did except you” Noor. H.

Memories Essay – You Need Help With That?

For you to write one of the best childhood memories essay, ensure that you include the most exciting events. Events, where you did funny or creepy things, are easy to recall. Go for such, and you will have a free course of ideas.

Can you recall a childhood memory and write a memory essay now?

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My Happiest Memory Essay & Paragraphs for Students

As a kid, I have experienced many wonderful moments that bring me joy. However, one day stands out as my single happiest memory. In this essay, I will share the special details of this incredible experience that left such a happy impression on me. I hope you will understand why it means so much to relive this treasured memory through writing.

Table of Contents

Essay On My Happiest Memory

A perfect picnic.

It was a beautiful summer day when my friend group decided to get together for a picnic. We packed blankets, snacks, and activities, then headed to a shady spot under enormous trees at the park. (Topic sentence) Setting up, I remember giggling at silly inside jokes and anticipating treats like sandwiches and juice boxes. Bright sunshine dappled green grass as we played together carefree like the warmth never intended to leave our skin.

A (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Memorable Treasure Hunt

To entertain ourselves, we devised an epic scavenger hunt around the whole park with riddles we had to solve to find various items to earn points. Racing through tulip patches and playgrounds with others cheering us on brought such glee. (Transition) My friend gave the best clue, hinting at a hidden spot near three oaks, which led me to discover a fake diamond ring – the round goes to me! (Topic sentence) Coming together for play lifted smiles as high as songbirds singing praise.

A Picnic Masterpiece

After working up an appetite with activities, we claimed a spot under willow branches hanging low as curtains to share our feast. Homemade cookies, fruits cut like flowers, and sandwiches cut into star shapes became art on our plates to savor and could not wait to taste. (Transition) Cool lemonade and giggles between bites kept shoulders touching in the shade of a tree aloft, a luminous sphere rising golden through leafy boughs overhead. (Topic sentence) Not a single drop of blue remained in the skies by the picnic’s end, yet its imprint stayed upon my heart.

Day’s End Delight

That afternoon was strung too perfectly with moments meant not to last, so basking in its beauty while daylight still embraced us seemed most wise. Slide down a grassy hill could lift any spirit skyward, then float back down, unraveling laughter’s melody once more. (Transition) Waving goodbye, holding memory near outlined in light spilled across the clouds, and I found refuge under knowing joy’s tune played on within. (Topic sentence) Though years may pass between, not a note could be forgotten of picnic played for keeps upon that summer’s sweetest day.

Cherished Gem

Simply reliving this happiest memory through writing brings my heart the same comfort felt among dear ones that dusk. The carefree play, shared treats, and bonding make it a treasured gem to hold near whenever the skies cloud over. Though many wonderful memories await, precious few may shine as bright as the favorite, happiest picnic’s glow. I am blessed to have such company and moments to revisit wherever life finds me.

Hello! Welcome to my Blog StudyParagraphs.co. My name is Angelina. I am a college professor. I love reading writing for kids students. This blog is full with valuable knowledge for all class students. Thank you for reading my articles.

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Childhood Memories Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on childhood memories.

Memories are a vital component of our bodies. They shape our personality as all our knowledge and past experiences are stored there. All of us have memories, both good and bad. You have memories from long ago and also from recent times. Furthermore, some memories help us get by tough days and make us cheerful on good days.

Memories are the little things which help in running our lives smoothly. In other words, memories are irreplaceable and they are very dear to us. They help us learn from our mistakes and make us better. In my opinion, one’s childhood memories are the dearest to anyone. They help in keeping the child in you alive. Moreover, it also is a reason for our smiles in between adult life.

Importance of Childhood Memories

Childhood memories are very important in our lives. It makes us remember the best times of our lives. They shape our thinking and future. When one has good childhood memories, they grow up to be happy individuals. However, if one has traumatic childhood memories, it affects their adult life gravely.

Thus, we see how childhood memories shape our future. They do not necessarily define us but they surely play a great role. It is not important that someone with traumatic childhood memories may turn out to be not well. People get past their traumatic experiences and grow as human beings. But, these memories play a great role in this process as well.

Most importantly, childhood memories keep the inner child alive. No matter how old we get, there is always a child within each one of us. He/She comes out at different times.

For instance, some may act like a child on seeing swings; the other may get excited like a child when they see ice cream. All this happens so because we have our childhood memories reminding us of the times associated with the things we get excited about. Therefore, childhood memories play a great role in our lives.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

My Childhood Memories

Growing up, I had a very loving family. I had three siblings with whom I used to play a lot. I remember very fondly the games we use to play. Especially, in the evenings, we used to go out in the park with our sports equipment. Each day we played different games, for example, football on one day and cricket on the other. These memories of playing in the park are very dear to me.

Furthermore, I remember clearly the aroma of my grandmother’s pickles. I used to help her whenever she made pickles. We used to watch her do the magic of combining the oils and spices to make delicious pickles. Even today, I can sometimes smell her pickles whenever I look back at this memory.

Most importantly, I remember this instance very clearly when we went out for a picnic with my family. We paid a visit to the zoo and had an incredible day. My mother packed delectable dishes which we ate in the zoo. My father clicked so many pictures that day. When I look at these pictures, the memory is so clear, it seems like it happened just yesterday. Thus, my childhood memories are very dear to me and make me smile when I feel low.

Q.1 Why is Childhood Memories important?

A.1 Childhood memories shape our personality and future. They remind us of the good times and help us get by on tough days. Moreover, they remind us of past experiences and mistakes which help us improve ourselves.

Q.2 What can be a common childhood memory for all?

A.2 In my opinion, a childhood memory most of us have in common is the first day of school. Most of us remember what we felt like on the first day. In addition, our birthdays are also very common childhood memory that reminds us of gifts and celebrations on that day.

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English Essay on “Happy Memories” English Essay-Paragraph-Speech for Class 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 CBSE Students and competitive Examination.

Happy Memories

What would we do if the Lord above did not give us this great facility called memory? Memories are a beautiful place to return to in. trying times, in lonely times or even in happy times. Memories of your past keep you grounded. Needless to say, Happy Memories work as healers and help us be grateful for what we have.

Think of a person who is born with sight only to lose it when he grows older. He would keep those happy memories, of the days that he could see as well as all that he saw, in his mind forever. It would give him great pleasure to imagine all that he saw and experienced. More often than not, sad and disturbing memories are repressed by our brain as a defense mechanism; it is only happy things we like to remember. The times you spend with your parents and grandparents are etched in your memory and remain with you forever, even after they are gone. The best thing about Happy Memories is that nobody can take them away from you, you can go back to them when you want to and come back rejuvenated and refreshed!

Cameras can capture moments in your life but your mind can capture everything you want it to capture. So, stay happy and keep collecting happy memories from this day on.

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Home — Essay Samples — Life — Memories — Memories of Happiness and Accomplishments in My Life

Memories of Happiness and Accomplishments in My Life

• Categories: Happiness Memories Personal Experience

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Published: Apr 11, 2019

Words: 1435 | Pages: 3 | 8 min read

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There’s an art to happy memories — you can make more by experiencing more “first”s

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Studies show we’re better at remembering the novel and the new, so let’s use this tendency to add to our storehouse of memorable and meaningful moments, says happiness expert Meik Wiking.

Ask any older person to recall some of their memories, and there’s a good chance they will tell you stories from when they were between the ages of 15 and 30. This is known as the reminiscence effect, or reminiscence bump.

Memory research is sometimes conducted by using cue words. If I say the word “dog,” what memory comes to mind? Or “book’? Or “grapefruit’? It’s best to use words that are not related to a certain period in life. For instance, the phrase “driver’s license” is more likely to prompt memories from when you were a specific age than the word “lamp.”

In studies, when participants were shown a series of cue words and asked about the memories they associate with those words and how old they were at the time of the memory, their responses will typically produce a curve with a characteristic shape, the reminiscence bump. The recency effect — a final upward flip of the curve — can usually be seen, too. For example, when asked what memory comes to mind when cued with the word “book,” what people have read recently may pop up more easily than what they read 10 years ago.

You can also see the reminiscence effect in some autobiographies, where adolescence and early adulthood are described over a disproportionate number of pages. If you look at Agatha Christie’s autobiography, which is 544 pages long, the death of her mother happens on page 346, when Christie was 33. In the period that covers the reminiscence bump in her life, memories fill more than 10 pages per year. In contrast, she sums up the events of 1945 to 1965, when she was aged between 55 and 75, in just 23 pages — a little over one page per year.

What do you remember about being 21, or from another year? And how do your memories from different decades compare?

One theory behind the reminiscence bump is that our teens and early adulthood years are our defining years, our formative years. Our identity and sense of self is developing at that time, and some studies suggest that experiences linked to who we see ourselves as are more frequently retold in explaining who we are and are therefore remembered better later in life.

One study found that 73 percent of people’s vivid memories were either first-time experiences or unique events.

Another theory is that the period involves a lot of firsts. Our first kiss, our first flat, our first job. In the Happy Memory Study we conducted at the Happiness Research Institute , we found that 23 percent of people’s memories were of novel or extraordinary experiences.

Novelty ensures durability when it comes to memory. Several studies show that we are better at remembering the novel and the new, the extraordinary days when we did something different. One study by British researchers Gillian Cohen and Dorothy Faulkner found that 73 percent of vivid memories were either first-time experiences or unique events. Extraordinary and novel experiences are subject to greater elaborative cognitive processing, which leads to better encoding of these memories. That is the power of firsts. Extraordinary days are memorable days.

The importance of firsts also means that, say, if you go to university, you are more likely to remember events from the beginning of your first year than later in that same year. In a study led by David Pillemer, professor of psychology at the University of New Hampshire, participants were asked to describe memories from their freshman year in college. “We are not interested in any particular type of experience,” said the researchers, “just describe the first memories that come to mind.” The researchers interviewed women who had graduated 2, 12 or 22 years ago from Wellesley College in Massachusetts.

In the second part of the study, participants were asked to analyze, one by one, each of the memories they had described earlier. The memories were rated on the intensity of the emotions the experience involved, the impact the event had on their life (both at the time of the memory and also in retrospect), and the estimated date of the experience they remembered.

The study showed that the majority of memories took place at the beginning of the academic year: around 40 percent in the month of September and around 16 percent in October. These results suggest that transitional and emotional experiences are especially likely to persist in the memory for many years. That is the power of firsts.

In our study, we also found evidence of the power of extraordinary days and novel experiences when it comes to happy memories. That is why I remember every first kiss I’ve ever had — including the very first.

In our study, we also found evidence of the power of extraordinary days and novel experiences when it comes to happy memories. More than 5 percent of all the happy memories we collected are explicitly about firsts. First dates, first kisses, first steps — or traveling alone to Italy at the age of 60 for the first time. The first job, the first dance performance or the first time you watched a movie in the cinema with your dad.

That is why I remember every first kiss I’ve ever had — including the very first. Her name was Kristy and I was 16 and scared of her dad, who was a professional rugby player.

If you want to create a night to remember for dinner guests, serving them something they have not tasted before might do the trick.

New and memorable experiences can also come in the form of food. I was 16 when I first tasted a mango. It was in 1994, I was an exchange student in Australia, and mangoes had not yet been introduced to supermarkets in Denmark, where I grew up.

I remember the sweetness, the texture. I remember thinking, “Where have you been all my life?” Since then, I have been chasing mangoes — other great food experiences out there which I have not yet had. I have tried fermented Icelandic shark and snails in a street market in Morocco. Both made me throw up a little, but I remember those moments quite vividly.

My point is that firsts can come in the shape of gastronomy. If you want to create a night to remember for your dinner guests, serving them something they have not tasted before might do the trick (but maybe not fermented shark, if you want them to come again). Ideally, it would be something that is not over and done with in a second, like a shot of licorice vodka at 3 AM. Nobody remembers that — for several reasons.

Better to go with something like an artichoke, which takes a bit of an effort to eat, as you have to peel each leaf off, dip it in salted butter, then use your teeth to harvest that wonderful flesh. This makes the whole experience longer lasting and multisensory.

It might also be the reason why life seems to speed up as we get older. When we’re in our teens, there are a lot of firsts, while firsts at age 50 are rarer. This is also why studies find that people who immigrated from a Spanish-speaking country to the US have their reminiscence bump at different times, depending on how old they were at the time of the move. Temporal landmarks of firsts and changes of scene play an important role in organizing autobiographical memory. There is a before and an after.

If we want life to slow down, to make moments memorable and our lives unforgettable, we may want to remember to harness the power of firsts. In our daily routines, it’s also an idea to consider how we can turn the ordinary into something more extraordinary in order to stretch the river of time. It may be little things. If you always eat in front of the television, it might make the day feel a little more extraordinary if you gather for a family dinner around a candlelit table—and if you are always eating candlelit dinners, it might be nice to eat dinner during a movie marathon.

Adapted from the new book T he Art of Making Memories: How to Create and Remember Happy Moments by Meik Wiking. Published by William Morrow. Copyright © 2019 by Meik Wiking. Reprinted courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers.

Watch his TEDxCopenhagen talk here:

About the author

Meik Wiking is CEO of the Happiness Research Institute, research associate for Denmark at the World Database of Happiness, and founding member of the Latin American Network for Wellbeing and Quality of Life Policies. He is the author of The Little Book of Hygge, and he lives in Copenhagen, Denmark.

• book excerpt
• meik wiking

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The Impact of Happy Memories

Have you ever participated in Throwback Thursday (#ThrowbackThursday) or Flashback Friday (#FlashbackFriday) on social media? Many people use these hashtags to post old pictures of themselves or others. Sometimes the pictures are silly, sometimes they’re reflective, sometimes they’re even sad . . . but they’re always associated with memories.

My favorite picture to share is my 4th grade school picture. The night before pictures, my mom took me to the salon and let me get a spiral perm. I know that I thought I looked amazing, but needless to say, in my picture I closely resemble a poodle! This picture always evokes much laughter–both on my part and with whomever I share the picture!

Why do humans enjoy looking back at old pictures and, consequently, reminiscing on the past?

The Science of Memory

Researchers in the field of memory have identified specific stages of memory. These stages describe how specific moments are stored in our memory for later access.

– Memory encoding. The first stage is called memory encoding. In this stage, our senses take in visual, acoustic, and semantic stimuli, and those perceptions are then recorded in our brain (McLeod, 2013).

– Memory storage. Once a stimulus has been encoded, the memory is either stored in short-term memory or long-term memory. Information stored in our short-term memory can be kept as little as just a few seconds, while information stored in our long-term memory can be kept a lifetime (McLeod, 2013).

– Memory retrieval. In the final step, called memory retrieval, information is pulled out of storage. Short-term memory is retrieved sequentially. Long-term memory, on the other hand, is retrieved by association (McLeod, 2013).

Now that we know a bit more about how memory works, let’s take a closer look at happy memories.

Happy Memories

A 2014 study conducted at the University of Portsmouth by L. Hyman showed that happiness possesses a strong temporal dimension (and if you remember back to science class, your temporal lobe is the part of your brain that is instrumental in long-term memory). Thus, reflections on the past can be a significant source of happiness for us in the present (Hyman, 2014).

We see this trend especially in older generations (Hyman, 2014). Have you ever sat with an older person and listened as they reminisced about the past? Growing up, my great-grandmother would share stories of her childhood in Arizona; even though my brother and I had heard all of her stories many times before, she never grew tired of telling them, and we never grew tired of hearing them. Older generations are more likely to view both the collective social past and their own personal past as happier and “better” than the current time period.

The same study revealed that younger people also idealize the past (Hyman, 2014). Although they don’t perceive the past to be necessarily “superior” to the present, they find special pleasure in memories. (This is likely one of the main reasons that so many people participate in the “throwback days” of social media.)

The Benefit of Nostalgia

It should be noted that while not all memories are pleasant and memories–both positive and negative–can overtake us unexpectedly, we can also choose to reminisce to induce “warm, fuzzy feelings.” Researchers also found that the act of reminiscing is actually a technique that many people use to make themselves feel better (Hyman, 2014); reminiscing can also calm you down in stressful situations (Speer & Delgado, 2017). While the idea that thinking about positive memories can improve mood and resilience to stress is not a new finding, it is affirming to know that “simply recalling happy memories can combat acute stress at a physical level” (Young, 2017). This is important because “people who tend to calm down physiologically soon after stressful events are generally healthier, both physically and psychologically, over the long term” (Young, 2017).

If you’re feeling stressed or down, or even if you just want to give a slow day a “pick me up,” perhaps taking time to look through some old pictures, sharing a memory with a friend, or personally reflecting on happy times will give you just the boost you need. If you want to share with us, we’d love to hear from you in the comment sections below.

Hyman, L. (2014). Happiness and memory: Some sociological reflections. Sociological Research Online, 19 (2) 3. Retrieved from http://www.socresonline.org.uk/19/2/3.html

McLeod, S. (2013). Stages of memory: Encoding storage and retrieval. Simply Psychology. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/memory.html

Speer, M. E. & Delgado, M. R. (2017). Reminiscing about positive memories buffers acute stress responses. Nature Human Behaviour, 1.

Winkler, E. (2014).  The science behind #ThrowbackThursday. The New Republic. Retrieved from https://newrepublic.com/article/118017/memory-happiness-science-behind-throwbackthursday

Young, E. (2017). New evidence shows the calming power of reminiscing about happy times. The British Psychological Association. Retrieved from https://digest.bps.org.uk/2017/05/12/new-evidence-shows-the-calming-power-of-reminiscing-about-happy-times/

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The Benefits of Reliving Your Happy Memories

6 simple techniques to savor your life..

Posted March 30, 2023 | Reviewed by Michelle Quirk

• What Is Resilience?
• Find a therapist near me
• "Remembering when" with others can instantly make you happier.
• Recalling happy memories is a powerful way to interrupt negative thoughts.
• A bedtime practice of remembering joyful experiences that have enriched your life can boost life satisfaction.

"Moments big as years," a phrase coined by the poet John Keats, suggests that some brief experiences are so vivid and powerful that they remain with us for all of our life. These moments tend to reflect experiences that are emotionally resonant. In them, we can find both meaning and joy, and they can serve us long after they occurred, contributing to our overall happiness and resilience . They are a gift that keeps on giving.

Since childhood , I've had a bedtime ritual that continues to this day. Every night, as my head hits the pillow, I take a moment to retrieve a positive memory , experience, or interaction from my past. This simple practice never fails to relax me and make me happy. Over the years, I never thought much about this youthful practice because long ago it became a sheer reflex, an unconscious habit.

So imagine how startled I was when, while scanning research news at my desk at Harvard Medical School a few years ago, I stumbled upon a study showing how past events can be used to boost present emotions. It was a fascinating find. Somehow, decades earlier, I had accidentally embedded into my life a practice that was acting as a mood enhancer by triggering both greater life satisfaction and joy.

Happiness-Boosting Nostalgia

This research showed that those who intentionally recall and savor positive memories experience a greater enjoyment of life. Those who reminisced and actively engaged in reliving happy experiences reported greater happiness and higher levels of satisfaction than those who did not have an intentional practice. Nostalgia , sentimental affection for past events that have happy personal associations, was proving to be a dynamic happiness booster. Nostalgia, it turns out, has the power to boost self-esteem , amplify positive emotions, and even act as a buffer against negative thoughts.

In addition to trumpeting the benefits of reminiscing, the study also explored techniques to inspire reflection. The participants were divided into three groups, with one group being instructed to spend 10 minutes twice a day reflecting deeply on a positive personal memory. Another group was asked to focus on mementos such as photographs or personal objects that held sentimental value, while a third group was instructed to relax while contemplating current concerns.

The results showed that the two groups that focused on positive memories and valued mementos reported greater feelings of positivity than the group that ruminated on problems. This suggests that intentional reflection on positive life experiences and meaningful objects can be an effective way to cultivate feelings of greater happiness and positivity.

Health Benefits

The health benefits of revisiting positive memories extend far beyond temporary jolts of happiness. Studies have shown that intentionally recalling happy experiences can help to disrupt negative thought patterns, alleviate anxiety , and even lower cortisol levels. This practice has been particularly effective in young people who are at risk of depression due to stress , as it promotes a more positive self-image . Adrian Askelund, who led one study , suggests that recalling happy events from the past can enhance mental health even in the face of significant stressors. As a result, positive memories can be a powerful antidote to stress by promoting buoyance and resilience.

Here’s the takeaway—we can savor life twice: once in the moment and again by recalling the memory. We routinely make a choice to either focus on positive thoughts that evoke pleasant emotions or to focus on negative thoughts that prompt negative emotions. The choice we make can have a profound impact on our overall happiness and even on our ability to bounce back from life's inevitable setbacks and disappointments.

If you are not in the habit of calling upon your happy memories, here are techniques to get you started.

• Count happy memories rather than sheep. Begin a nightly practice that ends each day by culling from your library of memories those joyful experiences that have enriched your life. You'll find this practice will spark both relaxation and joy.
• “Remember when” with your friends. The next time you're with family and friends, engage in a practice of "remembering when," by revisiting fun experiences that have strengthened your connections. My girlfriends and I routinely rehash our old stories and the inevitable laughter creates fresh happy memories.
• Commit your happy times to paper. The value of a gratitude practice is well established. Consider keeping a journal and every day jot down a few memories that make you happy. Recall your child's first Valentine, first hearing about a well-deserved promotion, or an afternoon sitting on a porch swing as it rained. Even during the most challenging times, you can count on reflections of happier times to lighten your mood.
• Delve into old photographs. Think about it—most photographs are taken when you and others are smiling, commemorating an occasion, or just celebrating your friendship . Pull out your photos as a way to trigger happy moments that have sparked joy in the past.
• Send a note to someone who makes your life better. Take a minute to tell an acquaintance, colleague, or friend “my life is better for knowing you.” It's an act of generosity that enriches both the recipient and the sender.
• Use prompts. Harness the power of sensory triggers, such as music or scent , to transport yourself to happy moments from your past. A favorite song from your youth has the power to catapult you right back into a sweet time of life. The smell of baking bread can rekindle thoughts of home and family. Use these sensory prompts to instantly transport yourself back to a happy time. I often rely on a bottle of my late mother's perfume to instantly return me to a treasured, long-gone time of my life.

In short, put your memories to work! Hold your “moments big as years" close to your mind and heart and then reach for them whenever you want to infuse your life with greater joy.

Bryant, F. B., Smart, C. M., & King, S. P. (2011). Using the past to enhance the present: Boosting happiness through positive reminiscence. Emotion, 11(4), 861–867.

Hunter, J. F., Ligon, J., & Wasielewski, N. (2016). Emotions and mindfulness as predictors of mood state fluctuations: A daily diary study. Journal of Positive Psychology, 11(1), 74–85.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30953005/

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-017-0093

Gina Vild , the co-author of Two Most Important Days, How to Find Your Purpose, and Live a Happier Healthier Life, is a former Associate Dean and Chief Communications Officer at Harvard Medical School.

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Guest Essay

I’m an Economist. Don’t Worry. Be Happy.

By Justin Wolfers

Mr. Wolfers is a professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan and a host of the “Think Like an Economist” podcast.

I, too, know that flash of resentment when grocery store prices feel like they don’t make sense. I hate the fact that a small treat now feels less like an earned indulgence and more like financial folly. And I’m concerned about my kids now that house prices look like telephone numbers.

But I breathe through it. And I remind myself of the useful perspective that my training as an economist should bring. Sometimes it helps, so I want to share it with you.

Simple economic logic suggests that neither your well-being nor mine depends on the absolute magnitude of the numbers on a price sticker.

To see this, imagine falling asleep and waking up years later to discover that every price tag has an extra zero on it. A gumball costs $2.50 instead of a quarter; the dollar store is the $10 store; and a coffee is $50. The 10-dollar bill in your wallet is now $100; and your bank statement has transformed $800 of savings into $8,000.

Importantly, the price that matters most to you — your hourly pay rate — is also 10 times as high.

What has actually changed in this new world of inflated price tags? The world has a lot more zeros in it, but nothing has really changed.

That’s because the currency that really matters is how many hours you have to work to afford your groceries, a small treat, or a home, and none of these real trade-offs have changed.

This fairy tale — with some poetic license — is roughly the story of our recent inflation. The pandemic-fueled inflationary impulse didn’t add an extra zero to every price tag, but it did something similar.

The same inflationary forces that pushed these prices higher have also pushed wages to be 22 percent higher than on the eve of the pandemic. Official statistics show that the stuff that a typical American buys now costs 20 percent more over the same period. Some prices rose a little more, some a little less, but they all roughly rose in parallel.

It follows that the typical worker can now afford two percent more stuff. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s a faster rate of improvement than the average rate of real wage growth over the past few decades .

Of course, these are population averages, and they may not reflect your reality. Some folks really are struggling. But in my experience, many folks feel that they’re falling behind, even when a careful analysis of the numbers suggests they’re not.

That’s because real people — and yes, even professional economists — tend to process the parallel rise of prices and wages in quite different ways. In brief, researchers have found that we tend to internalize the gains due to inflation and externalize the losses. These different processes yield different emotional responses.

Let’s start with higher prices. Sticker shock hurts. Even as someone who closely studies the inflation statistics, I’m still often surprised by higher prices. They feel unfair. They undermine my spending power, and my sense of control and order.

But in reality, higher prices are only the first act of the inflationary play. It’s a play that economists have seen before. In episode after episode, surges in prices have led to — or been preceded by — a proportional surge in wages.

Even though wages tend to rise hand-in-hand with prices, we tell ourselves a different story, in which the wage rises we get have nothing to do with price rises that cause them.

I know that when I ripped open my annual review letter and learned that I had gotten a larger raise than normal, it felt good. For a moment, I believed that my boss had really seen me and finally valued my contribution.

But then my economist brain took over, and slowly it sunk in that my raise wasn’t a reward for hard work, but rather a cost-of-living adjustment.

Internalizing the gain and externalizing the cost of inflation protects you from this deflating realization. But it also distorts your sense of reality.

The reason so many Americans feel that inflation is stealing their purchasing power is that they give themselves unearned credit for the offsetting wage rises that actually restore it.

Those who remember the Great Inflation of the ’60s, ’70s and early ’80s have lived through many cycles of prices rising and wages following. They understand the deal: Inflation makes life more difficult for a bit, but you’re only ever one cost-of-living adjustment away from catching up.

But younger folks — anyone under 60 — had never experienced sustained inflation rates greater than 5 percent in their adult lives. And I think this explains why they’re so angry about today’s inflation.

They haven’t seen this play before, and so they don’t know that when Act I involves higher prices, Act II usually sees wages rising to catch up. If you didn’t know there was an Act II coming, you might leave the theater at intermission, thinking you just saw a show about big corporations exploiting a pandemic to take your slice of the economic pie.

By this telling, decades of low inflation have left several generations ill equipped to deal with its return.

While older Americans understood that the pain of inflation is transitory, younger folks aren’t so sure. Inflation is a lot scarier when you fear that today’s price rises will permanently undermine your ability to make ends meet.

Perhaps this explains why the recent moderate burst of inflation has created seemingly more anxiety than previous inflationary episodes.

More generally, being an economist makes me an optimist. Social media is awash with (false) claims that we’re in a “ silent depression ,” and those who want to make American great again are certain it was once so much better.

But in reality, our economy this year is larger, more productive and will yield higher average incomes than in any prior year on record in American history. And because the United States is the world’s richest major economy, we can now say that we are almost certainly part of the richest large society in its richest year in the history of humanity.

The income of the average American will double approximately every 39 years. And so when my kids are my age, average income will be roughly double what it is today. Far from being fearful for my kids, I’m envious of the extraordinary riches their generation will enjoy.

Psychologists describe anxiety disorders as occurring when the panic you feel is out of proportion to the danger you face. By this definition, we’re in the midst of a macroeconomic anxiety attack.

And so the advice I give as an economist mirrors that I would give were I your therapist: Breathe through that anxiety, and remember that this, too, shall pass.

Justin Wolfers is a professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan and a host of the “Think Like an Economist” podcast.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

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