Minds tend to be thorough about what went wrong and quick about what went right. Relishing is the deliberate opposite. You go back to something that went well, remember it clearly enough to be there again, and then look at your own part in it. That last step is what makes it more than a pleasant memory. Recognizing the strength you used is one of the ways value is built, not as a claim that everything will go well from now on, but as evidence of what you are able to do.

In this exercise you will bring to mind an experience that left you feeling accomplished, proud, happy or satisfied, and recall where you were and what was happening until the memory is clear. Then you will turn your attention to what you did that helped it turn out that way, and name one skill, strength or quality you used. If no word comes at once, you will look at the action you took and ask what it required of you. You will stay with the feeling that comes from recognizing that, without hurrying past it, and remind yourself that this is real evidence of what you can do. Then you will look again at how you responded when something became difficult, notice the effect your actions had on you, on someone else, or on the situation, and bring the whole picture together.