My wife shares:
1. Every night before sleep, she reflects, "What good happened today?" aiming to identify three things. If something clearly joyful occurred, she cherishes it. If nothing obvious comes to mind, she reinterprets any event as 'good'. For example, a thought like, "I goofed up today," transforms into, "Ah, it's great I made that mistake. Now, I'll avoid it in the future."
This way of thinking gradually lifts her mood, infusing her with happiness. If she identifies three things, she keeps them in mind. If not, it doesn't bother her. She simply revels in the thought, "Ah, how blissful to fall asleep with such a delightful feeling," and soon, she's asleep.
2. In the morning, the first thing she does is write down the 'three good things' from the night before. This act heralds the beginning of her day. She wishes, "May I pen another 'that's great!' diary tomorrow." As she finds a positive angle in everything, content is never lacking. Hence, there's no stress...
...Regularly practicing this, she's grown more optimistic. It brings her joy at bedtime, and the effort to remember the positives seems to ward off aging. Writing them down first thing in the morning fosters a proactive attitude for the day ahead. "Why not give it a go, Darling?" "Ha ha~"
The inspiration seems to have come from a caregiver's tale she read about in a column a month ago. The "One-Two-Three to a 'That's Great!' Diary" is her own whimsical naming.
Why not try it out yourself? (I admit, I haven't yet.)
(Postscript) I'm still not keeping one (shamefully) (December 6, 2023)
