Three Good Things

So apparently Swedbank thinks my name is a little more Swedish than it really is... (In their defense, our last name did use to have the "ö" but it was dropped when my family left Sweden.)

In other news, Rachel and I went to the bakery across the road yesterday because it was Sunday, and we were not in the mood to do homework. We were open to all and every distraction so we decided that pastries would be a good idea. This is what I got, and it was delicious! Time well spent.

And now for the "Three Good Things" that I alluded to in this post's title. While studying positive psychology, both here and at Saint Mike's, I've heard about the "Three Good Things" exercise. Every day you're supposed to write down at least three good, positive things that happened to you that day. Studies have shown that it can increase hope, optimism, and gratitude. It is a simple exercise and I've tried doing it before, but for some reason I struggle to stick with it for any extended period of time. I'm going to try to start again, and I might share my list on here every now and again. The point is not to think of amazing things that might have happened (even though you can definitely jot that down), but to recognize the little things that made more of an impact than you might have realized at the time. I really think it does help to appreciate the little things in life, and I think it's healthy to take the time to stop and think about what has been good, what went well. People focus too much on the negative. Although in making my list today I exceeded the suggested three things (and that in itself I am grateful for), I will just share three with you today.

Three Good Things:

1. I got to catch up with two of my very good friends back at school today. I miss them dearly and it was nice to have a lengthy conversation with both of them.

2. I have a visiting family here in Denmark. Essentially, this means that a wonderful Danish family has chosen to include me in their lives for the four months I am here. I have met them once, and they are all fantastic (parents, three daughters, and two black labs- and yes, I am very excited about that last part...I may have even requested dogs specifically during the matching process). Anyway, the specific "good thing" that I am focusing on here is that the eldest daughter invited me to her birthday dinner this week so I will get to see all of them again. I feel incredibly lucky to be included in their family plans, and I am excited to get to know them better.

3. An old friend from high school that I have fallen out of contact with in the past few years sent me a message this morning. It put a smile on my face, and I'm looking forward to catching up with her.