Three Good Things

Why You Should Try It

In our day-to-day lives, it's easy to get caught up in the things that go wrong and feel like we're living under our own private rain cloud; at the same time, we tend to adapt to the good things and people in our lives, taking them for granted. As a result, we often overlook everyday beauty and goodness—a kind gesture from a stranger, say, or the warmth of the sun on a chilly morning. In the process, we frequently miss opportunities for happiness and connection.

This practice can help counterbalance those tendencies. Although emotions like disappointment are natural and serve an important purpose, it can be draining to focus all our attention on them. By remembering and listing three positive things that happened in your day—and considering what caused them—you tune into the sources of goodness in your life. It's a habit that can change the emotional tone of your life, energizing you with positive feelings of gratitude—which may be why this practice is associated with significant increases in happiness.

Why It Works

By giving you the space to focus on the positive, this practice teaches you to notice, remember, and savor the better things in life. It may prompt you to pay closer attention to positive events down the road and engage in them more fully—both in the moment and later on, when you can reminisce and share these experiences with others. Reflecting on the cause of the event may help attune you to the deeper sources of goodness in your life, fostering a mindset of gratitude.

Evidence That It Works

Seligman, M. E., Steen, T. A., Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2005). Positive psychology progress: Empirical validation of interventions. American Psychologist, 60(5), 410.

Visitors to a website received instructions for performing Three Good Things. They showed increased happiness immediately afterward, as well as one week, one month, three months, and six months later.

Who Has Tried the Practice?

Participants in the above study were mostly white Americans with postsecondary education and average income or above. Additional research has engaged members of other groups:

• Israeli adults showed less pessimism and reduced negative emotions one month after doing Three Good Things for five minutes daily across six days.
• Indian adolescents reported greater well-being after doing the exercise daily for one week.
• Kenyan teens in a Nairobi slum improved in anxiety, depression, and perceived social support through a community-based program that included one week of Three Good Things.
• Many different groups of people in China, including school teachers, nurses, methadone users, male prisoners, and cervical cancer patients, have been found to benefit from Three Good Things.

More research is needed to explore whether, and how, the impact of this practice extends to other groups and cultures.

Keep in Mind

Evidence suggests that disabilities related to cognitive processing and mental imagery might limit the benefits of Three Good Things.

Sources

Jeffrey Huffman, M.D., Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital
Sonja Lyubomirsky, Ph.D., University of California, Riverside

References

Reflecting on Three Good Things can spotlight the good in your life and boost your feelings of thankfulness. Do you have an attitude of gratitude? Take our Gratitude quiz to find out: