1 . Positive emotions don’t just feel good—they’re good for you. Research shows that people feel and do their best when they experience at least three times as many positive emotions as negative ones. Here are some ways to increase positive emotions in everyday life.

    1     Make a list. Add new emotions as you notice them. You also can look over your list of emotions at the end of the day and write down when you felt different positive emotions. Did you feel proud after playing well on the soccer field?     2     Tracking these positive emotions helps us be more aware of the positive feelings we already experience, and the situations or activities that bring them.

Identify a positive emotion you want to increase.     3     Think of situations or activities you’ve experienced that made you aware of your joy. Write down as many as you can. Focus on small, simple things, like a song that makes you feel joyful whenever you hear it. Any time you notice you’ re feeling joyful, consider adding that situation or activity to your list.

Sometimes we forget the way back to feeling positive. We might need a reminder that can lead us back to a happier emotional place.     4     A positivity box is a collection of reminders of positive experiences we’ve had. These reminders bring back the feelings associated with the good moments in our lives, our strengths, joys and accomplishments, the fun we’ve had, the books or music that have meaning for us, the people who are important to us.     5