🦆 CHILL THE DUCK OUT

Volume 024: 🎵 Look at this photograph.

🎵 Cold Open

I got the song “Photograph” by Nickelback stuck in my head the other day. My first reaction was a chuckle because I thought about one of my best friends from college who had an irrational hatred of Chad Kroeger. I never quite figured out the why. Was it the hair? The fact that he’s Canadian? Universal healthcare envy? Or maybe just his face? I don’t know, but it was always a hoot to watch him tense up when a Nickelback song came on.

My second thought, while belting the lyrics like a Canadian rockstar, was a reminder of how taking the time to look at pictures that are tied to happy memories is a wonderful form of self-care.

And you don’t even need to go far to make this happen because our phones are basically the family vault now. Every Christmas morning, summer trip, and random Saturday at the playground lives inside that little glowing rectangle. Forget photo albums that collect dust on shelves or permanently reside in boxes in the garage, my camera roll is basically the director’s cut of our family life, complete with terrible selfies, too many pictures of my dog and kitty napping together, and the occasional shot of my feet. Don’t judge. I have cute toes.

So when Google Photos decides to gift me with one of those “memories” reels, it’s like opening a time capsule I didn’t know I buried. There’s my son, years younger, grinning through a mouth full of missing teeth. There’s Christmas mornings with the dog trying to eat wrapping paper that we weren’t able to clean up fast enough. And there’s that vacation where the “relaxing” beach day turned into a full-scale operation to remove sand from every possible crevice of our car (and our souls).

Sometimes, those photos hit me with a pang (a sudden sharp pain or painful emotion. Vocab word of the week). They remind me how quickly time moves, how kids outgrow phases faster than streaming services cancel shows, how moments that felt so ordinary then are now the ones I’d pay good money to relive. It’s bittersweet, like laughing at your younger self’s hairstyle choice while realizing you’d trade anything to be back there and hug that version of your kid again.

But that sadness never stays. I always snap back to gratitude because I got to live those moments. And now I get to keep them. That’s the magic of memory, even if it’s filtered through Google’s algorithm, it’s still mine to revisit, to re-feel, and to remind me that life has been more than just emails and errands.

So this week, we’re leaning into the joy of looking back. Not to stay stuck in nostalgia, but to carry those reminders forward as proof that the best parts of life aren’t always the planned ones.

🧠 The Science Bit

Let’s dig into photo-scrolling as a science-backed wellness hack.

Your Personal Mood Pharmacy

Research published in Cognition & Emotion shows that looking at happy personal photos can quickly boost your mood and help regulate those pesky negative emotions. It's like having a pocket-sized happiness dispenser, except instead of candy, it's that picture of your dog wearing a birthday hat.

When was the last time you looked at a photo of yourself laughing and didn't at least crack a smile? Your brain literally can't help itself.

Gratitude Without the Guilt

This is the part that I like the most. Positive psychology research has found that reminiscing about joyful past experiences lights up the exact same brain pathways as practicing gratitude. So when you're scrolling through last summer's beach photos where your kids buried everything but your head in the sand, you're essentially doing gratitude meditation without having to sit cross-legged or download another mindfulness app.

Your brain is getting all those resilience-boosting benefits while you're just casually wondering why you thought that sunhat was a good look.

Stress Relief, Photo Style

A UC Santa Barbara study discovered that people who recalled positive memories bounced back from stress faster than those who didn't. Basically, your pics of the visit to the pumpkin patch (it’s that time of the year!) might actually be prescription-strength medicine for your nervous system. Who needs expensive spa treatments when you have that folder labeled "Best Day Ever" from two years ago?

Connection Through Pixels

Looking at old photos, especially with friends or family, strengthens feelings of belonging, which psychologists say is essential for long-term happiness. It's like group therapy, but with better snacks and way more laughing at old haircuts.

Your Brain's Greatest Hits Album

Your brain doesn't just remember those experiences, it replays them. Neuroscience research shows that recalling positive moments reactivates your brain's reward centers and releases actual dopamine. That warm, fuzzy feeling when you stumble across last year's perfect sunset photo is biology giving you a genuine feel-good hit.

The Bottom Line

The next time your phone serves up a memory and you're tempted to swipe it away, don't. Pause, smile, and let your brain soak in the good stuff. Don’t think of it as wasted time, but rather a reset button disguised as a trip down memory lane.

🍟 This Week’s Happytizer

Take a memory scroll.

• Open your photos app and scroll back exactly one year.

• Or let Google, iCloud, or that ancient “Camera Uploads” folder surprise you.

• Bonus joy: text one photo to someone who was there with you.

Reliving joy still counts as living joy.

🎉 Unsolicited Joy of the Week

A woman recently discovered her dad’s old photo albums from the 1980s and, in one particular album, every single picture was of cats. Not family vacations. Not birthday parties. Just cats. Page after glorious page of feline glamour shots, proving that long before the internet, people were already treating their cats like royalty.

It’s a reminder that joy doesn’t always come from the big milestones. Sometimes it’s the goofy, furry little side characters who steal the spotlight… and your heart.

👉 Read the full story here

💬 Tell Me…

What’s one photo that always makes you smile? Dig it up and send it my way. No judgment if it involves a questionable haircut or matching outfits.

📩 [email protected]

And hey, if this gave you a warm-fuzzy blast from the past, share it with a friend… or I’ll mail you a disposable camera and expect a full 27-photo report.

👋New Friends

One of the things that I’ve enjoyed about starting this newsletter is that I’ve had a chance to come across some pretty cool people who do their darndest to make being human a little better.

My new buddy Nick over at Outliyr is a certified CHEK Practitioner and Human Optimization Coach, and he created a handy resource – 7-Step Guide to 10X Your Energy – to help you stay clear, focused, and resilient without relying on more coffee or burnout hacks.

✅ A 5-minute morning ritual proven to boost focus more than caffeine

✅ A simple calendar audit to cut hidden energy leaks from your day

✅ Sleep & recovery tweaks that help your body regenerate on autopilot

✅ A nightly reset that clears your mind and sets you up for a productive morning

✅ Powerful breathwork & movement protocols to recharge anytime in minutes

It’s short, science-backed, and easy to apply.

I thought you might like it!

👉 [Get the 7-Step Guide to 10X Your Energy here]

🫶 Duckin’ Done

That’s Volume 024. Here’s to memory scrolls, gratitude bombs, and proof that life’s best moments don’t need to be staged.

Until next time: pause, smile, and chill the duck out.

Jason

🧐 Behind the Curtain

The research on positive memory recall and wellbeing is surprisingly robust. Studies in Cognition & Emotion have consistently shown that viewing personal positive images activates emotion regulation networks in the brain. UC Santa Barbara's memory lab has demonstrated that positive autobiographical memory retrieval helps buffer against stress-induced cortisol spikes. Meanwhile, neuroscience research using fMRI imaging reveals that recalling happy memories reactivates the same dopaminergic reward pathways that were active during the original experience, essentially allowing your brain to "re-live" positive emotions. Social psychology research adds another layer, showing that shared reminiscing (like looking at photos together) strengthens social bonds through increased oxytocin release. The gratitude connection comes from positive psychology studies proving that reflection on past positive experiences activates the same prefrontal cortex regions as gratitude practices, boosting psychological resilience.