Three good things

Each evening, write three things that went well and why they happened.

Why it works

Adding the "why" forces a causal explanation, which trains the brain to notice and credit the sources of good outcomes rather than letting them pass unregistered. The negativity bias means bad events are encoded automatically; this practice supplies the deliberate counterweight that good ones do not get for free.

How to do it

1. At the end of the day, write three things that went well, however small.
2. For each, write one sentence on why it happened or your role in it.
3. Re-read yesterday’s entry before adding today’s to compound the effect.

Evidence

A structured "three good things" exercise is among the better-supported positive interventions, with controlled studies reporting increased happiness and decreased depressive symptoms that persisted for weeks to months after the writing stopped. (rct)

Effect sizes are modest and vary by person; some replications are weaker, and benefits fade if the practice becomes a rote checklist.

Common mistake

Skipping the "why". Listing three items without the causal sentence turns it into inventory-taking and loses the attributional retraining that does the work.