Three good things
Each evening you write down three things that went well, and why.
Three good things is written in the evening, on paper or in your phone, and to each one you add a sentence about why it happened and what your part in it was. That second part decides the effect — a bare list quickly becomes an empty ritual. The things can be small: a coffee that was good, a message from a colleague, ten minutes of quiet. The exercise is not there to make you keep quiet about what is bad. It is there so you notice what happened outside your attention, because your attention was busy elsewhere.
When to use it
With low mood and with a strong negativity bias — when the day is remembered by the one thing that didn’t work.
How it goes
- In the evening, write down three concrete things that went well. Small ones are better than big ones.
- Beside each, write why — and what your part in it was.
- Do it for two weeks in a row, not now and then.
Why it works
This is one of the more researched exercises in positive psychology; the effects are modest but consistent. The second part — the why — matters more than the first, because it practises attribution.
