Three Good Things for Happiness

Had an email from a friend, this morning, who’s started doing the “Three Good Things” exercise which formed part of a study reported in the July–August 2005  issue of the American Psychologist. Basically you write down three things that went well  and what caused them, each day. The study found that participants were happier and less depressed after a month and they stayed happier and less depressed at a three-month and six-month follow-up. The long-term effects were most pronounced for those who continued the exercise on their own. (They were originally asked to do it for a week only).

So I’ll give it a go. To keep myself motivated I’ll maybe send an email with my responses to my friend, last thing at night. That should help me actually do it.

If any of you fancy giving this a go please feel to use the comments to post your answers and results. If there’s enough interest we could start a separate area within the site to help keep us motivated.