Studies have demonstrated that walking through a doorway creates a mental block, decreasing our memory of what happened in the room we just left. It isn’t replicated when one walks the same distance within the same room (no doorway) and it doesn’t matter if the environment is virtual (video game) or IRL. It also doesn’t matter if you end up in the same room in which you started – if you walk through a doorway something in your brain decides to move on to the next thing and retain less than if you hadn’t walked through a doorway. So, what has this to do with happiness? Well, for one thing, when you take a break from an argument you can make sure to walk through a doorway! Also, try taking advantage of someone’s blank state and start their new room experience with a hug or a smile. It’s amazing how something that takes such little effort can have such a huge effect.