When I first joined Mastodon, I came across a hashtag which seemed nice and a fun little activity to join in on every day: #ThreeGoodThings

The concept is simple, just list three good things that happened in that day. On positive days, this can be easy, listing things like going on trips, eating tasty food or meeting great people. On more mundane days, things like seeing a nice sunset, wearing a favourite sweater or just getting out of bed and moving around more can be found.

I’m not exactly sure when I started joining in on using this hashtag at the end of the day, but I know I’ve been doing it for well over a year now, not missing a day, becoming part of my evening routine where I wind down in bed, catch up on my Mastodon feed, play and post my daily Waffle Word Game play along, and then write up my three good things.

They’re usually of the mundane. I’m normally just writing about cuddling my cats, cooking food, listening to music, and watching a TV show. But I nonetheless pause for a minute and replay my day back, trying to identify what about it was positive to write down.

I post them with a content warning, so people have to click on it to read the list. I’ve had people ask me why I do this, and while it can be because of the subject matter, it’s actually because some see such posts as a form of toxic positivity, that I’m perhaps painting an overly positive life or ignoring an objectively crap day and pretending it was good.

While I understand such sentiments, and that’s why I do add my content warnings, I honestly hope people don’t think that’s why I post to the hashtag every day. I do it as part of reflection, like a micro diary entry, and done publicly as some form of accountability, as well as to remind myself that even when I am feeling low or had a bad day, there are little things to hold on to - and they often are little. I watched a show I liked, I cuddled a cat, and I wore a comfy jumper. Having my mind focus on the negative isn’t helpful for me, it’s better when I’m about to go to sleep to have the nicer memories of the day in my head. Even on days which were fine, not much really happens, so it’s a similar three things.

I post these for me, but I get likes on my toots, and sometimes a comment or question about what I’ve posted, which is a nice starting point for conversation. I also occasionally get a reply from someone expressing how much they like seeing my toots, which is kind of them to say, and surprises me because they are often just so mundane and uninteresting. I see so many people on Mastodon living fuller lives, and while I’ve long come to peacefully accept I’ll not have lives like they do, I nonetheless believe my life isn’t of interest to others and so I don’t talk about it much as there really isn’t much to say.

So seeing people remark at enjoying my little mundane daily life updates, often featuring the same things, is both surprising and appreciative. I’m glad these small toots are bringing something positive into the lives of others in some way.