Three Good Things

Writing down three good things affirms what goes well in our lives.

Have you ever noticed you tend to remember your mistakes and failures more often than you think about happy times? When we do Three Good Things, we affirm what goes well in our lives. Recalling these events, and not taking them for granted, will grow our gratitude.

Three Good Things diverts our minds from the negative. When we reflect on the positive, it leads to noticing even more positive. We retrain our brain to remember the good things. We can choose to either count our blessings or total up our troubles.

Here’s how it works

Every night for two weeks, set aside three to five minutes right before you go to sleep. Grab some paper and jot down three things that went well that day, and note why they went well.

Some great tips:

• Write down three good things, or something positive noticed during a tough day, like beautiful weather
• It is more effective if you write by hand rather than using an electronic device
• The items you write can be short and specific. For example, a good thing could be a smile from a friend or an unexpected compliment at school
• It is best to start the exercise on a Monday
• Please stick with doing Three Good Things for 14 days right before you go to sleep

Benefits

Becoming more aware of good events increases happiness and decreases depression. Research shows completing Three Good Things produces results as powerful as taking anti-depressants.

After using this Bounce Back Project™ tool for two weeks, the positive effects last for about six months. Other results include:

• Improved sleep quality
• More positive relationships
• Reduced levels of burnout
• Increased focus on positive experiences