If you’ve attended one of my leadership development courses or resilience workshops, then I’ll have encouraged you to develop the habit of reflecting on ‘3 Good Things’. Put simply, this is the habit of ending each day by reflecting on three good things that have happened to you during the day and it is one of the disciplines encouraged in Positive Psychology. Although Martin Seligman originated this technique, it was Sukh Pabial who reminded me about it and I’d like to acknowledge the role that he’s played in spreading the word.

If you’re connected with me on Twitter, you’ll know that this is a daily habit for me and I tweet them with the hashtag of #3GoodThings as do a number of other people. (We also have some variants: #3GoodPeople and #3GoodPints for use on certain days!)

Identifying 3 Good Things (regardless of whether you share it with anybody else) is a powerful habit on its own and I’ve seen people experience a real benefit from that habit alone. However, there is another step to this habit which, although often forgotten, is really powerful; Seligman (2011, p. 84) encourages people to identify the 3 Good Things from the day and then for each good thing, to reflect on:

– Why did this good things happen?

– What does this mean to you?

– How can you have more of this good thing in the future?

If you haven’t tried this, I’d encourage you to give it a go. Not only does it encourage a mindset of gratitude, but it also encourages the habit of reflecting about them in a way that encourages you to take action to create more good things.

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