"The findings of Murphy and Bastian suggest that it's [..] the intensity of the experience that is enjoyable because it leads to a greater sense of meaning. This makes sense from a narrative identity perspective: our life story and our sense of who we are is a carefully constructed selection of meaningful events from our lives. The events that we find most worthy of incorporating into our life story may be those that are most intense. The greater contemplation associated with intense experiences may increase the likelihood that we consider such events self-defining."

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/beautiful-minds/emotionally-extreme-experiences-not-just-positive-or-negative-experiences-are-more-meaningful-in-life/