What We're Reading Now

What’s Your Micro-Moment of Positivity?

1 July 2025

Allison was delighted to learn about "reverse pet peeves, tiny little joys, slo-mo on purpose, and finding the sliver" in Jancee Dunn’s article, Happiness Doesn’t Have to Be a Heavy Lift.

Tags: allison read, balance, gratitude, happiness, joy, optimism

One of my favorite sites to visit is Well. However, sometimes the content I find there is so interesting to me that I can spend more time reading than I should. That's why I'm glad I get the Well newsletter via email. It is a quick read, provides “essential news and guidance to live your healthiest life," and includes links to a lot of supporting content if I want to read more. I always (and I really do mean always) find something in it that’s helps me to take a little better care of myself. It’s only for New York Times subscribers, so I’ve included a gift link to last Thursday’s installment by Jancee Dunn, Happiness Doesn’t Have to Be a Heavy Lift, here.

The idea that we need to have small joys and moments of gratitude isn’t a new one, and I'm lucky to be surrounded by colleagues who help me keep joy at the forefront. When Rachel teaches our Happiness Matters course, she gets people to think of things they enjoy that cost less than $5.00. When Barbara needs a boost, she recites this list to herself until she figures out which one will make her feel better, “read, write, paint, sew, walk, and dance.” When life gets hard, Kate always returns to her practice of listing out the #goodstuff.

However, last week was the first time I read the phrase, “micro-moments of positivity.” Barbara Fredrickson, director of the Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Laboratory at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, says these moments “act as nutrients for psychological health and growth, helping you become a better version of yourself, little by little.”

In her newsletter, Dunn gives examples of four different categories of micro-moments of positivity coined by authors of books I now want to read:

• Look for Bree Groff’s ‘reverse pet peeves’ that bring you a disproportionate sense of joy. (The snapping sound when I break off the dead geranium flowers on the plants on my deck brings me a ridiculous amount of pleasure.)
• Schedule a few of Mary Catherine McDonald’s Tiny Little Joys. (I insert little joys throughout my day, but I don’t usually schedule them. Starting tonight I’m going to set an afternoon alarm on my phone labeled TLJ which will remind me to look around my office or my house for something fun to do for a few minutes.)
• Dr. Sue Varma suggests I “do something ‘slo-mo’ on purpose.” I’ve decided I’ll be cutting my fruits and vegetables at half speed for the rest of the summer.
• Groff also encourages people to incorporate a “sliver” of your favorite vacations into each day. I’ve loved every trip I’ve taken to New York City to watch Broadway shows with my mama Barbara, so I’m going to try to listen to one song from those shows on the way to work each day.

I'm grateful to Jancee Dunn for curating a group of experts who have given me new ways to think about the importance of simple pleasures. Also, Dunn and I share the little joy of using the free Merlin Bird ID app. Thanks to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, we can learn what bird is singing to us wherever we go.

What new micro-moment of positivity will you try this summer?

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