Three Awesome Things

I’ve kept a nightly journal, in one form or another, since I was in fifth grade--over 20 years! I love documenting things and recording my days (probably the reason I majored in history in college!). I especially love going back and re-reading the entries from particularly special days in my life--we even used my journal entry from the night I met my husband as one of the readings at our wedding!

About two years ago, I started to realize that my nightly entries were become really negative--I had a lot of frustrations at work and I was using the space to vent. Increasingly, though, it felt like I was rehashing the same grumpy thoughts every night. I was still committed to the nightly practice of writing, but I knew it was time to shift something.

I tend to crave structure. Whether it’s 20 points every night on Duolingo, or 10,000 steps a day, or reading for 10 minutes each night--I like to practice the same habit, at the same baseline, every day. If I break the streak, I tend to fall off the wagon completely. So when it came to revamp my nightly journal routine, I wanted to develop a nightly ritual that felt achievable (there’s so much else crammed into the day!), got me to the same outcome (remembering what I did that day), and had a decidedly more positive outlook.

The result: my Three Awesome Things list. Each night, I write down three awesome things that happened that day. On especially fantastic days, I might expand the list and jot down more awesome things, but I push myself to always come up with at least three--even if the most awesome thing I can come up with is the weather or a migraine-free day or the hour I spent curled up on the couch with my two cats watching the Great British Baking Show. Every day. Three awesome things.

Note that this is not a Gratitude Journal. Of course, I’m grateful for good weather, pain-free days, and Mary Berry, but the concept here is slightly different. But “grateful” feels a bit heavy for me to wrestle with in those last few minutes before my head hits the pillow each night. I’m trying to capture the good stuff, the highlights of my day, the little images I want to remember. Gratitude can sometimes generate feelings of guilt or of favors that need to be repaid, and that’s not the point of this activity. 

Framing my nightly list as “Three Awesome Things” also allows me the space to record accomplishments I’m proud of too--a powerful client coaching session, teaching myself some new tech skill, or finding the perfect birthday present for my sister-in-law. This is a huge shift for me--I have always been someone who works really hard on a project, finishes it, and then moves on immediately to the next thing, without giving any further thought to what I just did. By slowing down and taking a few minutes to reflect on my day, I’ve been able to redirect that habit and capture those successes--super helpful as an entrepreneur when it feels like things are often one step forward and two steps back. 

I’ve started recommending this practice to my clients, too, many of whom share my ambitious, focused, problem-solving tendencies. Clients constantly tell me that they feel like they are “floating”--going through the motions of a career that looks good on paper, but feeling unsure of how they got to this point in the first place. Often this feeling of “floating” is joined by feelings of impostor syndrome and feeling like they just fell into a career rather than getting there because of their own successes and skills. 

Intentional rituals like Three Awesome Things can create powerful change for you if you feel this sense of floating. This is an easy way to create time for regular reflection, without it feeling too heavy or time consuming. Pausing to mark the passage of time through an Awesome Things list helps you capture the day-to-day details that vanish from our memories so quickly. 

The very act itself of creating an evening ritual that is aligned with your values and goals can help you feel more intentional and in control and less like you’re going through the motions or falling into things. You may also start to notice patterns among what catches your eye that could give you valuable insights.

In addition, focusing on Awesome Things leads to a huge mindset shift. We notice what we’re looking for--if you’ve committed to writing down three awesome things each night, you’ll find yourself mentally taking note of little things throughout the day that could be potential candidates for your list. Focusing on the positive will have positive results. 

I’m about to enter year three of my Awesome Things list--I’ve captured so many small moments that would have been lost forever while creating an evening wind-down ritual that ends the day on a positive note. It’s been a total mindset-shifter for me--will you try it out?