“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things”

- Philippians 4:8-9.

Have you ever noticed that we tend to think about and focus on what goes wrong and not enough about what goes right in our lives? This is what psychologist calls our negativity bias. Our brain is built with a greater sensitivity to unpleasant news. Our negativity bias serves us well to warn us of danger; however, in our day-to-day lives when we focus on the negative we can overlook the everyday goodness and take it for granted.

By reflecting on 3 good things that happen each day we can train ourselves to look for the positive in everyday situations.

This practice is helpful because it guards against the unhelpful side of our negativity bias. By remembering and listing three positive things that have happened in your day--and considering what caused them, we tune into the sources of goodness in our life. This is a habit that can change the emotional tone of our lives, replacing feelings of disappointment or entitlement with those of gratitude--which may be why this practice is associated with significant increases in happiness.

Time required 10 minutes/day

How To Do It

Each day, write down three things that went well for you that day, and provide an explanation for why they went well. It is important to create a physical record of your items by writing them down; it is not enough simply to do this exercise in your head. The items can be relatively small in importance (e.g., “It was a beautiful day”) or relatively large (e.g., “I earned a big promotion”). To make this exercise part of your daily routine, some find that writing before bed is helpful.

As you write, follow these instructions:

1. Give the event a title (e.g., “I made a helpful contribution to my team at work today”)

2. Write down exactly what happened in as much detail as possible, including what you did or said and, if others were involved, what they did or said.

3. Include how these events made you feel at the time and how these events made you feel later (including now, as you remember it).

4. Explain what you think caused this event—why it came to pass.

5. If you find yourself focusing on negative feelings, refocus your mind on the good event and the positive feelings that came with it. This can take effort but gets easier with practice and can make a real difference in how you feel.

Why it works

Research shows that this practice is actually good for one’s mental health and increases happiness. By giving yourself the space to focus on the positive, this practice teaches you to notice, remember, and appreciate the better things in life. It may prompt you to pay closer attention to positive events down the road and engage in them more fully. Reflecting on the cause of the event may help you get in touch to the deeper sources of goodness in your life, fostering a mindset of gratitude.

Challenge: For the next seven days practice the Three Good Things exercise. After seven days, share with a friend in what way this exercise has impacted your outlook on life.

Sources:

Jeffrey Huffman, M.D., Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital
Sonja Lyubomirsky, Ph.D., University of California, Riverside

Greater Good Science Center's Greater Good in Action website