The Pleasure Paradox and the pursuit of happiness 191 wholesome tasty meal on seasoning and sauces. This is an important distinction. The‘ happy life’ has to come from other things and be in place first. Then as we realize that pleasures are fleeting we can enjoy them and not be disappointed or confused when their effect wears off. So before we leave pleasure to move onto happiness let’ s look at how to get the longest and greatest benefit from pleasurable experiences – eating of course being one of them. The research into this question has come up with the importance of three factors: 1. savoring; 2. an attitude of gratitude; 3. having to work for it. I devoted Chapter 8 to mindfulness and what it teaches us about savoring both those special moments in our life and our High Sacrifice Foods to extract the most pleasure we can from them. I will not explore it any further here other than to remind you that an important way to amplify the savoring experience is to talk about it both at the time and then afterwards with others. This adds an interpersonal element that acts to increase the meaning and the power of the experience. If a problem shared is a problem halved, then I would say a pleasure shared is a pleasure doubled. Gratitude has been a bit of a surprise, but consistent, finding when researchers look at people who are happier. These people are constantly looking for and mindful of the positive things they have in their lives. They are not necessarily people who have more material success than most – often the reverse is true – but they appreciate what they do have. Teaching people to be more grateful increases their ratings of happiness. Having to work for a pleasurable experience has also been shown to increase the amount it leaves people feeling happy. Taking a‘ long cut’ is now an exercise given to people to get them to do things the long way around that enhances the pleasure of the experience. An example of a long cut would be to drive or walk a longer way to work along a more scenic route while exercising full mindfulness for that part of the travel.