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Before I went back to school to become a therapist, I worked in health care administration during the Covid pandemic. To say that it was stressful is an understatement.
While looking for ways to maintain patient care, reduce burnout, and take care of our team members, I stumbled upon a piece of research that has stuck with me - it’s called Three Good Things. It’s one of those things that feels too good to be true, but it’s a practice I continue and often recommend to my therapy clients.
At the end of each day, simply write down three things that went well. They can be super small, like noticing a change in the weather, receiving a text from a friend, or seeing something beautiful in nature. Next, name why they happened or the feeling each one brought up. By exploring and naming the feeling, you are building a new habit to become more aware of your emotions.
Three Good Things was studied by Dr. J. Bryan Sexton at Duke University as a way to reduce healthcare worker burnout. He found that just two weeks of this practice produced a 22% decrease in burnout that held up a full year later, along with a significant drop in depression symptoms and real improvements in work-life balance and relationships.
Why does something so simple work? Our brains are wired to identify threats, which sometimes means the good stuff gets filtered out. Practicing noticing positive emotions like hope, gratitude and awe each day will give the part of your brain that notices what’s going right some exercise.
So if you’re feeling like it’s time to try something new, I’d invite you to try this simple practice for the next two weeks, and reflect on what you notice. You’ll be strengthening an often neglected part of your brain and putting in place a habit that can create long-term changes in your mood.
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Reference: Three Good Things: Build resilience and improve well-being | Originally posted with My American Nurse blog; Dec 2018
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