Kelly McGonigal's book, The Upside of Stress (which I highly recommend) describes a simple but powerful intervention: writing about your values for just 10 minutes.
"It turns out that writing about your values is one of the most effective psychological interventions ever studied. In the short term, writing about personal values makes people feel more powerful, in control, proud, and strong. It also makes them feel more loving, connected, and empathetic toward others. It increases pain tolerance, enhances self-control, and reduces unhelpful rumination after a stressful experience.
In the long term, writing about values has been shown to boost GPAs, reduce doctor visits, improve mental health, and help with everything from weight loss to quitting smoking and reducing drinking. It helps people persevere in the face of discrimination and reduces self-handicapping. In many cases, these benefits are a result of a one-time mindset intervention. People who write about their values once, for ten minutes, show benefits months or even years later." — Kelly McGonigal
Choose three values
Look at the values below and choose three that are personally meaningful to you. These can be personal strengths, ethical virtues, attitudes, or qualities you want to develop.
Now choose **one** to write about.