Skip to main content

Write down 5 things

Image
By
For 28 days I took 5-10 mins each night to write down 5 things that day that I was grateful for.


Why did I do this?

This was my assignment for the Science of Well-being course that I did online. The science shows that money and stuff usually don't increase our happiness. Often when they do it's only by tiny amounts.

On the other hand, 40% of our happiness comes from our thoughts and actions (see the 13 happiness hacks). A gratitude journal is one of those actions.

Assignments are great

That's not normally a phrase students say. But when I know I need to write down 5 things at the end of the day, I operate differently.
  • I look out for experiences to savour - one day I stopped at the corner to savour the sound of the birds singing.
  • I look to connect with people socially - even for us introverts, social connection does increase happiness.
  • I look for activities that use my signature strengths.

Rear-view mirror

Apart from seeking positive experiences, the recording also increases well-being. It's harder to be down in the dumps after spending 5-10 minutes thinking about multiple things you're grateful for. I'd record my 5 things just before bed. I hoped that with grateful thoughts being the last of the day, I'd get to sleep sooner and sleep better. Good and long sleep also increases happiness.

140 positive experiences

If someone told you'd have 140 positive experiences this month, that would be good news.

After writing 5 items a day in my notepad, 140 items of gratitude is precisely what I had by day 28. Does this happen all the time - and we just don't notice or savour it? Or was it because I took actions to make sure I'd have positive things to jot down each night?

Either way I now had a list of things that bring me joy.

What am I grateful for?

Of the 140 items, the top item was time with people. Yes, surprising for an introvert. The key is that mostly the number of other people was 1 or 2 - not a crowd.

The equal top item was food. My wife makes great food, but during the assignment I took extra time to savour it - rather than choofing it down, almost subconsciously, while we watch TV.

Like Scott Rieckens and his wife, I also found that the bulk of my items were free or barely cost anything. I did an escape room with my wife and her sister (we got out with 2 mins to spare) and went to a Caribbean restaurant with my wife. Other than those I don't think anything on my grateful list cost anything more than a bus fare.

Conversely, the affluence that does bring joy is time affluence - as mentioned in the course. A number of my 140 items were gratitude for the time to do an activity (including this blog). It really does seem that the time can give me more happiness than extra money can.

Am I happier?

I measured my happiness at the start and end of the course using two psychological surveys. Over the length of the course my happiness increased by 10% and my well-being increase by 8%.

Related articles

The Science of Wellbeing course
Why we're not happy with things
Ways to increase happiness
Read more about:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Simple phone

By
I get my fair share of teasing for still using a Nokia phone. So I feel quite vindicated that someone has now invented a new non-smartphone . It's pitched for those who want a decluttered life. Instead of features, its selling points are things like "reclaim a little quietude from the constant intrusions of technology", "no internet connection, no app store and definitely no camera for taking selfies". One quote from the article said "as smartphones get bigger and bulkier, there is a place for something small and simplified, without all the functions." That kind of statement resonates with me. Not just for phones, but for so many areas of life - including the houses we live in.
Post a Comment
Read more

Why own a car, when you can go get?

By
That's the slogan of one company providing an alternative to car ownership. Here's our experience with them. Why not just have our own car? Another time I'll write a full post about that, but suffice to say that car ownership is a pain in the neck. The servicing, the maintenance, the repairs, the parking, the traffic, the registration, the insurance, the cleaning... For my wife and I, about 98% of our transport needs can be done on foot, by bike, by train, bus or ferry. Maybe 99% if you include rideshare. So we choose to avoid the pain (and cost) of car ownership. However, car use (I think of it separately from car ownership) can be handy in certain situations. We had one of those situations last weekend. Here's how it went. Booking a car My wife signed up for GoGet , and booked the car online for the time window she needed it. As a first-timer, she received her little membership card in the mail. On the day of the booking, GoGet sent her a reminder email about 20 minut...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Latte Factor

By
For the first time ever I'm reviewing a novel. Latte Factor is a short story  - around 120 pages - and is equal parts of inspirational story and financial education. The combination of the two is quite rare, and done quite nicely. The story is about Zoey Daniels, associate editor for a travel magazine. Although she's never been outside the USA  - "a travel editor who's never travelled". She struggles with money and is considering a higher-paying job at the company her friend Jessica works for. The job would provide more income, but would also be more stressful and demanding. She already has a nightmare about being on an increasingly-fast treadmill that she struggles to stay on. Her current boss Barbara - aware only of the money situation - suggests she talk to Henry at the coffee shop. This peculiar suggestion is where Zoey's life begins to turn a corner. Spoiler Alert Being a book of fiction, I don't want to spoil the story for you. It's a book you ca...
Post a Comment
Read more