Social networks are covered by a new flash mob #Good news. During the week, every day we share with friends three events that made us happy, and pass the baton to two more virtual friends. Those who have been «sacked» often admit that at first they felt at a dead end: what to write about? nothing good seems to have happened. But as soon as one thought about it, it turned out that this was not the case.
It turns out that at least something good in our life can always be found. The whole secret is to be able to notice these moments and appreciate them. So #Good News is not just entertainment, but also a useful exercise that is widely used in positive psychology. Here is what our expert Ilona Bonivell* has to say about it:
“This is probably the most effective method of positive psychology: various variations of this exercise have been studied by several researchers, and tangible results have always been observed. This method has been found to increase happiness over time and reduce depression symptoms for up to six months.
By the way, this does not mean that after six months the effect is lost — we just do not have data on what happened next with the participants in the experiment.
- New Positive Psychology
The instructions are quite simple. Every night for a week, before you go to bed, look back at the day to find three things that worked out well that day. Write them down and think about your role in them. Writing down is important as it helps to focus on the highlighted events. Thinking about your role is just as important because it helps you feel in control, which in turn affects well-being.
Your role in some of the events may not always be obvious to you: if the sky was clear and blue today, what did you do about it? Well, at least they noticed it. Finally, regularity is very important in this exercise: either write down all week in a row, or once a week for six weeks. Studies have shown that the well-being of those who did this exercise three times a week for six weeks decreased slightly, which suggests that the exercise can be overdone.
The best results are those who continue to find reasons to be grateful to fate from time to time even after the end of the weekly Good News course. The point is that it is important to notice good things from time to time, however, not allowing this activity to become routine.
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If it seemed to you now that I suddenly lost all my critical abilities and entered the slippery slope of exaggeration, I beg you not to jump to conclusions. When the data was published and I began to tell students about this exercise, I myself felt a little embarrassed — everything was too simple. In the end, I decided to test its effectiveness for myself. It took me about half an hour the first evening to find even one good thing, despite the fact that I perfectly remembered everything that I did wrong during the presentation, the number of letters that I did not answer, and projects that I did not manage to turn in on time . On my second night, I suddenly realized why my partner was so upset when I came home from work and asked why the kitchen was a mess before I took off my coat. On the third evening … well, you understand me.
* I. Bonivell «Keys to well-being» (Time, 2009).