The importance of stopping to smell the coffee

Posted by Ryan

If I get a really good cup of coffee, I like to just go "you know what, just hang on a second, this is a fantastic cup of coffee..." I will stop and make that moment... you will enjoy life more if you do that!

The importance of stopping to smell the coffee

There was an article in The Age today about Napier Quarter cafe in Fitzroy, Melbourne banning takeaway coffee. Initially prompted by the environmental impact of takeaway coffee cups, the owner has said that the motivation for the ban goes much further. He says:

"Everyone has time to sit down and have a coffee... We are taking our references from classic European and Lygon street in the 1950s. Taking that time, to not compromise to having a moment to yourself every day. I think it is really important in that day and age instead of facilitating this really wasteful takeaway culture. Everyone thinks they are so much busier, but they are not. You can certainly make time to sit down and have a coffee."

I don't know about you, but I really love this. Also prompted by environmental concerns, in the last couple of years I've been choosing to more often sit down for a few minutes at a cafe to have a coffee, rather than getting it on the fly. While my main motivation was initially about reducing coffee cup waste, I've come to really appreciate the opportunity to stop, even if only for a few minutes, press the pause button, and actually just enjoy the coffee and the experience. 

In the field of positive psychology, there's actually a term for this. It's called "savouring": "noticing and appreciating the positive aspects of life". Research shows that proactively practicing savouring on a regular basis promotes happiness and enhanced wellbeing. The Black Dog Institute has some useful savouring tips here.

But even more than that, there's something powerful in simply inserting some pause points during the day -- moments simply to stop and slow down.

When I read the article in The Age, it reminded me of something the great 20th century philosopher Jerry Seinfeld had said when on Enough Rope with Andrew Denton back in the early 2000s (check out the clip below):

"If I get a really good cup of coffee, I like to just go 'you know what, just hang on a second, this is a fantastic cup of coffee...' I will stop and make that moment... you will enjoy life more if you do that!"

So take the time every now and then to stop, make a moment, smell the coffee, and savour the experience -- and save the planet while you're at it!

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