This week’s practice is from the book Flourish by the founder of Positive Psychology, Dr. Martin Seligman. The practice is the “What-went-well exercise”.
“Every night for the next week, set aside ten minutes before you go to sleep. Write down three things that went well today and why they went well. You may use a journal or a computer to write about the events, but it is important to have a physical record of what you wrote. The three things need not be earthshaking in importance (‘my husband picked up my favorite ice cream for dessert on the way home from work today’), but they can be important (‘my sister gave birth to a healthy baby boy’.)
Next to each positive event, answer the question ‘Why did this happen?’ For example, if your husband picked up ice cream, write ‘because my husband is really thoughtful sometimes’ or ‘because I remembered to call him from work to remind him to stop by the grocery store’.
Writing about why the positive events in your life happened may seem awkward at first, but please stick with it for one week. It will get easier. The odds are that you will be less depressed, happier, and addicted to this exercise six months from now.”
