Raising Happiness

[3andMe]

Pepperlru's other posts got me thinking about happiness, and I thought I'd share one of the things that I try to do on a regular basis with my kids, an idea I got from the book Raising Happiness. I actually tend to think of myself as a pretty happy person, and I often think of the things I have instead of the things I don't have. A lot of it may be innate, but I do think some of it was how I was raised, with pretty much nothing in material goods but a mother who stopped to appreciate the beauty of a spiderweb covered in dew, or a laboring ant, or who would encourage me to touch the bark of a tree trunk and compare it to another one nearby.

Anyway, many times when I am the one reading to the twins, I ask them if they can tell me three good things that happened to them that day, right before they go to sleep. They don't have to be super awesome things. They can be little things. They start getting in the habit of thinking about good things that happened, and studies have shown that people often remember the ending more strongly, so it's a great way to wrap up the day.

[mla]

I'm going to do this tonight w/DS. What a great suggestion!

[demigraf]

Thanks for sharing your practice, L! Great idea.

[Bridget]

I love that. Thank you.

[Suja]

Great idea!

[pepperlru]

I did this a lot with DD1 when she was young. It was really nice, especially before bed, and led to a lot of cozy discussions. I've definitely slacked off, but should get started again and include Noe. Heck, all of us in my family could use a daily reminder of how good we have it.