You may write about the kindness or the high qualities of people that you know, and that's fine. But some people give all their attention to someone they care about: a husband or wife, a child, or a boss. They think about that person's satisfaction or dissatisfaction, which is totally fine, but it's not the aim of the optimistic writing method to highlight others' experiences, rather your experience and what you felt. It's possible to write about how you felt towards someone's satisfaction or good feelings, but not to make your writing pivoted around that person. For instance, don't write: "My husband seemed really happy today because of the dinner I made." Instead, write: "I felt proud and warm today after cooking a meal I knew he would love." Don't write: "My boss finally smiled at my report." Instead: "I felt a small wave of relief and pride when I handed in that report."
Write about yourself, not others.
If you write about others, write within the scope of their interaction with you. For example, those who were good to you, who smiled, or who offered you something.
For instance
- The barista remembered my order and smiled at me before I said a word. Small moments like that keep landing on my side of the counter.
- My brother called just to check on me, and he stayed on the line until I laughed. People are good to me — that is worth keeping.
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