Sometimes it's the small things that get us down. It was raining as I was cycling into work today and I was having one of those mornings when everything seemed to be going wrong. Luckily, it can be the small things that improve our day too. I remembered this when someone I've never met called out "Hey there! You have a great day!" as I cycled past and a couple of minutes later a driver slowed to let me cross a busy road. It was a real boost to my mood and it reminded me of some research into positive psychology interventions, or ways to improve happiness.
The researchers found that a very simple exercise - which they called Three Good Things - had dramatic effects on people's emotional well-being. The exercise is easy to do: each evening, just write down three things that went well that day, and why they happened. People who did this for a week were happier and had less depressive symptoms 6 months later! And the effect was even stronger for those who continued with the practice beyond that first week. If you'd like to give it a try, this website has more info, as well as a host of other exercises you can try.
The Three Good Things exercise is a simple way to train ourselves to notice and appreciate the good in our lives and, as the researchers point out, the practice can become self-maintaining because it's fun to do. So my third good thing for the day is appreciating my job and how it gives me the opportunity to share excellent pieces of research like this. What's yours?