Writing three good things
The gratitude exercise with the strongest evidence, why the "why" matters, and how to keep it honest.
Gratitude advice has a reputation problem. It can sound like being told to cheer up. The exercise in this article is smaller and more specific than that, and it has a randomized trial behind it.
What the research found
In 2005, Martin Seligman and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania tested five happiness exercises against a placebo. They recruited 577 adults online and gave each person one exercise to do for a week. The placebo group wrote about early memories every night.
One exercise asked people to write down three things that went well each day, and why each one happened. People who did it reported more happiness and fewer depressive symptoms, and the effect was still there six months later.1
Two other exercises didn’t last, and the placebo gave only a short boost. People who kept writing on their own after the week was up tended to do best.
The “why” is the part that does the work.
Why the “why” matters
Listing good things trains your attention to notice them. Explaining why they happened goes a step further. It links good moments to things you did, people in your life, or situations you can return to. “Coffee with Ana” is pleasant. “Coffee with Ana, because we finally made time” tells you something you can repeat.
Keeping it honest
This isn’t about pretending a hard day was good. The things can be tiny. A warm shower counts. Getting through a difficult meeting counts. If you can only find one, write one.
It’s also worth knowing the limits. The 2005 study used people who visited a happiness website. A 2021 review of 27 trials and more than 3,600 people found that gratitude exercises had a small effect on symptoms of depression and anxiety, and only a slight edge over control activities like neutral journaling.2 It’s a low-cost habit with modest evidence. It isn’t a treatment for depression.
How to try it
Tonight, before bed
- Write down three things that went well today. Big or small.
- Next to each one, write why it happened.
- Keep it short. Five minutes is plenty.
- Do it every night for a week, then see if you want to keep going.
Brevé’s Journal has a Three good things entry built in, with a “why did it happen?” line under each one. It’s also the first step of the Bedtime Ritual.
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