Writing down three good things
A short evening exercise: three things that went well today, each written down with a line about why. How to do it, and how to keep it small.
Three good things is a writing exercise. At the end of the day, you write down three things that went well, and for each one a short note about why it happened.
Greater Good in Action, from the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, describes the exercise in these terms. This site keeps a version of it on the Reflect page, saved only in your browser.
How to do it
Think back over the day and pick three moments that went well. They can be small: a kind message, a bus that came on time, a task you finished.
Write each one down. Add a line about what made it happen. Sometimes the answer is another person, sometimes it is something you did, and sometimes it is luck.
Keeping it small
One line each is enough. You do not need to feel grateful while you write, and you do not need to find three if the day was thin. One honest line is fine.
If you skip a day, start again the next time. Nothing here keeps score.
Noticing during the day
After a while, some people find they start to notice good moments as they happen, because they know they will write them down later. When that happens, pause for a moment and let it register before you move on.
When it does not fit
On a hard day, writing about good things can feel forced. It is fine to leave it, or to answer the reflection question instead, which can be about anything at all.
Sources
- Greater Good in Action describes Three Good Things as writing down three things that went well each day, with a note about why each one happened. Three Good Things, Greater Good in Action (UC Berkeley)