Seek out awe as a broadening and self-transcending emotion

Awe expands perceived time, reduces self-focused thought, and increases prosocial behavior — and it can be deliberately accessed.

Why it works

Awe involves a perception of vastness (something that exceeds current mental models) and accommodation (the need to update those models). In Fredrickson’s framework, awe is among the most powerful broadening emotions. Dacher Keltner’s research adds specificity: awe reduces the small self — the self-focused, threat-monitoring identity — and produces a sense of connection to something larger, with measurable effects on prosocial behavior and wellbeing.

How to do it

1. Identify two or three reliable awe sources in your accessible environment: a particular outdoor setting, a piece of music, architecture, a specific natural phenomenon.
2. Schedule at least one deliberate awe experience per week, treating it with the same commitment as sleep or exercise.
3. During the awe experience, practice allowing the sense of vastness rather than narrating it ("wow, I’m feeling awe") — the absorption matters more than the observation.

Evidence

Awe inductions in laboratory and field settings have shown increased prosocial behavior, reduced self-focus, expanded time perception, and lower inflammatory markers in several studies. Keltner’s group at Berkeley has been the primary research team. (observational)

Most awe studies use laboratory or short-term field methods; the translation to sustained wellbeing effects through regular practice is plausible but less directly tested.

Sources

• Keltner & Haidt (2003), Approaching awe, a moral, spiritual, and aesthetic emotion, Cognition & Emotion
• Stellar et al. (2015), Positive affect and markers of inflammation: Discrete positive emotions predict lower levels of inflammatory cytokines, Emotion

Common mistake

Waiting for awe to find you rather than pursuing the environments and experiences that reliably produce it — the irregularity of modern life requires that awe be somewhat engineered.