Signature Scents

The Science of Optimism:

How to Train Your Brain to Look on the Bright Side

Doom and gloom are at an all-time high. Yet, many of us still have to go to work, lead our families, and sleep at night. It begs the question- how can we be optimistic- especially in the face of deep, turmoil?

Learned optimismis an idea rooted in positive psychology. It involves developing the ability to view the world from a positive point of view.

Don’t confuse learned optimism with being “unrealistic.” Optimism is not ignoring the (sometimes very real) potential downside; it’s making a conscious choice to not park your mind there.

According to the New York Times,research suggests that optimistsearn more money, havebetter relationships, and evenlive longer.

So, how can train our brains to get there?

1.Enlist the help of other optimists

Famous speaker Jim Rohn once said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

Personally, I have to believe human beings are a bit more complex than that. However, we know our environment (and the people in it) makes a lasting impact on the way we think.

The people you surround yourself with are having an impact on your optimism (or lack thereof). Try forging relationships with people whose mindset you admire; call a friend who just took a great new job or spend time with a 5year-old talking about Santa. Emotions are contagious and their optimism will start to rub off on you.

2.Set aside time to worry

Unfortunately, continually telling yourself “don’t worry” does not actually do much do curb negative thoughts (speaking from experience). Scheduling worry time is a cognitive-behavioral therapy technique where people are encouraged to set aside time specifically to work through the things that they are worried about.So instead of telling your brain “don’t worry about it,” tell your brain to worry later. Like “I’ll think about that at lunchtime,” for example.

This practice keeps worry from taking over your whole day. Plus, I’ve found that when you set something aside until it’s “time to worry,” by the time you actually let yourself worry about it, you come to the scenario with a more level head.

3.Ask yourself - What if it turns out great?

I wrote about this mental hack last year, in reference to overcoming fear. Fear and pessimism are cousins in the family of emotions; being worried about something can give rise to fear or hopelessness.

If you find yourself starting to think “what if it goes terribly?” interrupt that thought cycle, and challenge your brain to think “what if it goes great?” Pointing your brain towards the payoff (instead of the risk) helps you be more confident, courageous, and optimistic.

Our brains are hardwired to alert us to perceived risks and less instinctively inclined to examine the potential upside. But making a conscious effort to focus on (or at least acknowledge) the potential positive outcomes trains your brain to think differently over time. 4.When in doubt, just blame your parents

According to Dr. Martin Seligman, director of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania, “Pessimism is one of the personality traits that’s highly heritable.” Further, research from theUniversity of British Columbiahas determined that your genetic makeup can influence your perception of life by amplifying negative experiences and emotional events. All hope is not lost, however. Dr. Seligman also notes that while this trait is highly heritable, it is also modifiable. But not without work.

Acknowledging the linkage between our genes and our mindset is not an invitation to throw your hands up and succumb to your primal resting state. I bring it up to help you cut yourself some slack. Maybe you were born with inherited rose-colored glasses, or maybe, like the rest of us, you’re working on un-learning centuries of fatalistic thinking.

The world is up against a lot. Pandemic, war, rampant greed… I don’t know how to solve those problems. But I do know they won’t be solved if our collective spirit is broken.

Optimism is a choice. Even small actions, like temporarily parking a worry spiral or resetting yourself with a hopeful conversation contribute to a more optimistic world.

Signature Scents

By Andrea Cheng

Six years ago, Atelier Cologne founder, Sylvie Ganter was presented with a challenge by her business partner Christophe Cervasel: to create a signature scent for Majestic, a five-star hotel located in the heart of Barcelona, in celebration of its 100-year anniversary. She had six years of developing, conceiving, and perfecting fragrances for her consumers. But for a building? “I had no clue where to even start,” she recalls. “I had never done anything like this.”

The first step was immersing herself in the hotel. With her family, she stayed at Majestic over a long weekend, soaking up every detail, like the history (Hemingway and other legendary figures were, famously, longtime residents), the decor (intricate moldings, bold fixtures, Art Deco accents), and the overall aesthetic (luxurious but not ostentatious, traditional yet timeless). It crystallized what felt like an impossibly abstract task, allowing her a glimmer of how she could capture the spirit of the hotel and distill it into a fragrance.

Once she established the mood she wanted to evokemuted, masculine, chic, elegant, timeless, relevant she turned her attention to the ingredients. In order to use elements from the hotel's surroundings to anchor the fragrance to the region, she landed on Mediterranean-grown clary sage, a form of musk, and fig leaf for a salty seaside note, before loading it up with Atelier Cologne's signature citruses like lemon and bergamot. conditioning by making it brighter and less concentrated.” She adds that the concentration of traditional fragrances is 18 percent oil, but for the hotel, it was diluted to less than 10 percent. “You want something that smells good in the space, not overwhelming, like you're swallowing it when you enter the hotel.”

Musc Imperial launched at the Majestic in 2015, and soon after, guests demanded it in perfume form. And then a candle. The hotel requested that it be made into an amenities line, ending Bulgari's reign as its sole vendor. In 2019, the scent was awarded Niche Fragrance of the year-the only hotel-inspired fragrance to ever win an award-by the Cosmetic Executive Women, a trade organization for the cosmetics, fragrance, and personal care industry.

But for the most part, Ganter believes the majority of Majestic guests probably don't even notice the scent. “It's subliminal,” she says. “Now that there are amenities and a candle in all the rooms, it makes it more official as the scent of the hotel. And if you bring home the shower gel, it transports you back to the place where you had a really good time.” Which is precisely the whole point of signature scents for hotels or any business, more imporrtantly Spas: creating an olfactory memory that, when presented again, can trigger nostalgia.

Rachel Herz, psychology professor at Brown University and Boston College and author of The Scent of Desire, says the use of a fragrance to achieve this effect can be traced to the late '90s with the launch of AromaSys, the first company to provide environmental scenting through the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems at large resorts chains in major U.S. cities. As technology evolved and more companies began to tap into indoor-scenting machinery, the demand for a specific smell increased. Because unlike random fragrances or candles sold at boutiques, a scent that's specially designed for a business is intended to forge an emotional association and, ultimately, drive repeat business.

“Guests may not pay that much attention to the scent, but they're aware it's there when they walk into the busines,” says Herz, who has studied the psychological association with scent for almost 30 years. She says we adapt to smell within 15 to 20 minutes, which is why it's of the utmost importance to streamline the l scent with its toiletries. “It creates a memory trinket; the scent is a marker and a reminder for them to return to the business or spa for their next visit.”

The alignment between a business or spa's personality and the signature scent is an important one. When there's a disconnect, it could potentially lead to disastrous results, like repelling guests and, ultimately, hurting its brand identity. Offensive notes, too, don't help, such as artificial materials like peach or calone, or anything overtly feminine or masculine. It's much easier to harness one or two special characteristics and extract them into a scent.

No one will know for certain how a custom fragrance will be received, but when done right, it enhances the overall experience. For Ganter, it paid off when she dreamed up “Musc Imperial.” And when she stays at other hotels, she can't help but notice the scent or abscence of scent.