Count Your Blessings: It is easy to criticize, to counts your failings and how life has failed you. But what about all the good things in your life? Things you have done and things done to you. Put your hand over your heart and think about past and present deeds of kindness. Make a "What I am proud of" or "What good has been done to me" list.
Do Something New: Join a class or learn a new form of exercise (for e.g, if you normally jog alone, try swimming instead). Learn something new, be it a skill, a hobby or an experience. The activities should capture your curiosity and interest (such as if you always wanted to play the guitar, try learning it). If in a group, socialize with other members as much as possible. If you are alone, reflect on how this experience makes you happy.
Make Your Own Stat Card: Ever notice how sport statistics cards like baseball cards, have key attributes of a player and his achievements during his career. Time to make your own stats card! Write down all the skills and strengths that you possess. Also list what you do the best. You can even ask your family and friends, what they admire or love about you the most. Merge the items in the list, until you are left with 10 core strengths.
For some of the above activities, it's necessary to keep a journal or a diary and record your activities for at least two weeks. At the end of the day, rate the goodness of the day on a scale from 1 to 10, 10 being a great day, 1 being the worst and 5 is average. At the end of two weeks, see which days had rating of 6 and above, and which activities you had performed. This helps you understand what activities make you happy and you can incorporate them more into your lifestyle.
Positive psychology is not without its critics. Some regard it as a fad, and the jury is still out on whether it will mature into a legitimate science discipline. It has a one-size-fits-all attitude, and individual cases must be respected. Patients suffering from deep rooted insecurity issues or depression, need continuous therapy, and this type of psychology can just underline the difference between what they feel and how they should feel. This branch of psychology should not be confused with self-help or positive thinking. It is a science where, actual research is carried out by actual scientists, which is not the case with self-help. With more and more psychologists conducting research and experiments, positive psychology intends to complement, not replace traditional psychology.
Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/positive-psychology-exercises.html