The next time you're left speechless by the beauty of all that surrounds you, take a moment to recognize that your capacity to be left wonderstruck isn't just good for you — it's also a tremendous part of what makes you human.
In this rousing tribute to the power of awe, filmmaker Jason Silva reveals why it pays to dream, ponder, marvel and explore. It's an absolutely fantastic way to spend three minutes of your day, and a compelling reminder to seek out all the wonder that this universe has to offer.
Those interested in reading the Stanford study that Silva references can find it here, free of charge. I've included the abstract below.
"Awe Expands People's Perception of Time, Alters Decision Making, and Enhances Well-Being" (Forthcoming in Psychological Science)
Melanie Rudd, Kathleen D. Vohs, Jennifer Aaker
When do people feel as if they are rich in time? Not often, research and daily experience suggest. However, three experiments showed that participants who felt awe, relative to other emotions, felt they had more time available and were less impatient. Participants who experienced awe were also more willing to volunteer their time to help others, more strongly preferred experiences over material products, and experienced a greater boost in life satisfaction. Mediation analyses revealed that these changes in decision making and well-being were due to awe's ability to alter the subjective experience of time. Experiences of awe bring people into the present moment, which underlies awe's capacity to adjust time perception, influence decisions, and make life feel more satisfying than it would otherwise.