Of all the happiness exercises proposed by Seligman – father of positive psychology – Three Good Things (and Using Personal Strengths in New Ways) was found to have the most significant long-term impact on happiness.
Basically, every night before bed, you think of 3 good things that happened in the day (no matter the scale), write them down, and give a causal explanation for it (reflect on why it happened).
For my 22nd year i’ll try this out, as far as i can go. Useful also because it gives me a reason to update my blog. Probably will not, however, make it fully public. More personal entries will be made private. Does anyone wanna try this out with me?
18th Jan, Day 0:
1. Had a fulfilling morning cycling with my Dad in great weather. I bothered to drag my lazy ass out of the house despite slight lethargy. My dad remembers appointments i make with him and is always very proactive in reminding me/keeping to them, which i love about people.
2. Watched a brilliant episode of WILTY. For a long time watching comedy series has become merely a distraction from stress or work. This semester i’m letting myself watch purely to be entertained. There’s a sense of lightness i cannot quite articulate, and it gives me space to laugh heartily where it warrants. I realize i have not laughed so spontaneously (alone, i mean) for awhile.
3. Had a birthday dinner with my family and J. Best minute of a great day was when the whole table laughed together about something. There is something about sharing joy with your closest loved ones. Grateful that J was there to share it. J’s commitment to coming for dinner, even if it meant pushing away other appointments, made this possible. And of course my extended family’s willingness to take time off their schedule for me, even at 22 when celebrating is no longer a requisite.
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