The Three Good Things Intervention should be taught inside any life coach training, where “intervention” is taken seriously. It has not only extraordinary life-changing results, but has also been scientifically proven to be just so. Martin Seligman from the University of Pennsylvania developed the tool.
That’s what coaches often struggle with, they take all the right life coach training certifications, but then they get “that” client. The client who is a bad weather animal, who always without fail takes themselves (and you) on a downward spiral. The three good things exercise is particularly useful for those who tend to be bad weather animals more than the other. It is also suitable for people who obsessively think negative thoughts, mainly before they go to bed. Signs even indicate that it is an excellent exercise for those who have depressive emotions.
Three good things intervention
The positive intervention steps
Before you go to bed, as the last thing you do, write down the following:
1. Three things that went well today?
2. And why?
3. That’s it.
Scientific foundation
Most life coach training lacks any scientific foundation. Which means, the coach who truly educates themselves after their life coach certification training can involve science and improve. That’s why coaches should always be educating themselves.
Outcomes: three good things intervention
What scientifically has been proven to happen within six months:
1. People report having more life satisfaction
2. Less depression
3. Lower chance of relapse back into depression
And most importantly: it is fun and addictive.
It is the latter that makes this exercise invaluable if you are interested in personal development, adding more tools to your life coach training foundation, and achieving well-being and happiness. As a lot of tasks are not enjoyable or fun and are a constant pain impulse. This is a joyful experience.
Altering the exercise
Should we experiment with this exercise? For instance, thinking about three good (childhood) memories before you go to sleep? Random assignment, placebo, and control testing on the three good things exercise has proven to have no effect compared to the above exercise.
Association
As an NLP trainer, and someone who offers life coach certification training, one thing I like doing with this exercise (I have been doing it for well over five years now) is to imagine the three good things associated. Meaning what I saw, hear, and felt, looking through my own eyes (the first perceptual position of NLP), and then also imagine it dissociated, like an observer (looking at myself). Then go into the why of it all. The sum of different tools often better than just one. I find it extraordinarily useful to combine NLP training, life coach training with the “three good things” science piece!
Resources
Book
Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life – Martin Seligman, Ph.D
