Your favorite coffee mug might fill you with a sense of contentment and happiness, while the sight of your favorite armchair might make you feel relaxed and chilled out.
Maybe you get a warm and fuzzy feeling when you stumble across your favorite childhood toy, or you feel excited and festive whenever you see cookie dough at the grocery store. Those feelings might be linked to spending long hours playing with your favorite LEGO set, or many seasons of making cookies with your family around the holidays. A person’s sense of smell is also connected with memory, which is why specific smells often remind you of certain memories and experiences. [2] X Research source When dealing with trauma, there are triggers associated with it, and these triggers can be objects, as well as smells or sounds.
Items can also carry a lot of emotional weight if they were given to you by a loved one. For example, the sight of your childhood Barbie might fill you with comfort and happiness because your mom gave it to you as a birthday gift many years ago.
It may help to use an item that you already associate with a specific emotion. For example, your favorite blouse probably gives you a lot of good vibes to begin with—so, it would be a great object to associate with happiness or contentment.
Installing a fun hood ornament right before a roadtrip could infuse that item with a sense of excitement and adventure Wearing a necklace or bracelet to a spa might give that item a sense of relaxation and peace
Let’s say you always hated broccoli as a kid—whenever you’d see the green stuff on your plate, you’d feel disappointed and let down. You might reprogram that feeling by associating broccoli with a feeling of optimism and happiness for all the tasty nutrients and benefits it offers your body.
Think about how the object was made, too. Handmade items and gifts likely carry more emotional significance than machine-made items.
Let’s say you wear a special hair clip to a job interview with the hope that it’ll bring you “good luck. ” Even though it’s your experience and qualifications that land you the job, you might associate that hair clip with luck after that positive experience.
You might say “Sorry about my computer; she’s having a rough day!” when you take a long time to load into an online meeting. You could say “My car hates the cold weather—he takes so long to start up” after driving to work in the winter.
After a bad day at work, you might find a peaceful sense of escape while flipping through your binders of old Pokemon cards. After a day filled with nonstop errands, admiring your favorite teacups might help you feel a little more relaxed.
Cater to a person’s desire to feel unique and separate from other people Create a positive, uplifting, and hopeful vision for the future Invoke a sense of complete independence and freedom Reflect a desire to save the earth and care for the environment[10] X Trustworthy Source Harvard Business Review Online and print journal covering topics related to business management practices Go to source Tip: Emotional marketing techniques can emotionally charge and elevate your ads. Try using an inspiring tale or celebrity to motivate a customer to buy an item (like featuring a famous athlete on a box of cereal), or highlighting a customer’s goals and connecting those dreams with a specific item (like catering high-end jewelry to a person who wants to appear wealthy and successful). [11] X Research source
If you are dealing with a hoarding disorder, a psychologist might suggest treatment options like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), where you can learn how to have a healthier relationship with the items in your life.
