3 good things

I am in good spirits today! I attended the 1st Asian Conference on the Science of Happiness and Well-being organised by the Global Leadership Academy. A two-day conference, it brings to Singapore some of the leading authorities in Positive Psychology. Today, Martin Seligman (or Marty), Sonja Lyuyubomirsky, George Valliant and Catherine Lim spoke. I had to rush bk to work for a meeting so I missed Catherine Lim's talk on the joy of story-telling. I guess I will have to ask my colleagues how that went.

Anyway, I wanted to write today about 3 good things. I had previously read about it in Authentic Happiness, but did not write about it yet as I was experimenting with it with my hubby. 3 good things is essentially a positive intervention which allows one to experience positive emotions like contentment, satisfaction, serenity and pride.

Here's what you can do. Every night, you can either think about it to yourself or write down in a diary 3 good things that happened to you and why. You could also choose to share it with someone. It really depends on your style; the method you choose should be a good 'fit' for you. According to Sonja, 'fit' is critical so that you can really experience the positive emotions associated with the intervention.

An example of my own:

1. I have the opportunity to attend this Happiness Conference. It went very well because I finally got to hear Martin speak and meet many interesting people. All because I wrote to my bosses to allow me to attend this conference on company funds. Am very thankful that they supported me!

2. My husband picked me up from work when I ended late because of a meeting. He was patient and I had informed him beforehand that i might be late. Was very happy that he agreed to stay later at work so he could fetch me.

3. I discovered a recipe on the internet to remove cellulite using coffee grounds and moisturiser and used it for the first time. Good news - while the cellulite has not disappeared or reduced as yet, some rough pimple-like bumps on my leg have! All because I was willing to try it out! Yeah!

I have added a twist to this - using my signature strength. As mentioned, mine is the capacity to love and be loved. Every night, I will hug my husband and we will take turns to share our 3 good things while hugging. You cannot imagine how soothing it is and how it has brought us such an increase in positive emotion. It was simply addictive! Just as Martin says, the difference between therapy and positive psychology is that positive psychology interventions are self-maintaining once you've tried them out - you get hooked on them!

Try it out for yourself and let me know how you feel. :)