optimism

SpreeSparks: Best Possible Future Challenge (Tiny Wins for Emotional Wellbeing)

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sparks creating a golden path to your best possible future

Try this Best Possible Future challenge to boost optimism, clarify goals, and turn dreams into tiny wins. This includes easy prompts for work, play, and relationships.

Imagine it’s 5–10 years from now—and you can’t stop smiling.

Not the “posed for a photo” kind of smile. The real one. The kind that shows up when your life feels like it finally fits: your work feels meaningful, your relationships feel steady, and your days include more calm, joy, and confidence.

This SpreeSpark is a simple positive psychology practice called the Best Possible Future exercise (sometimes called “Best Possible Self”). It’s designed to help you visualize what’s possible, then translate that vision into tiny wins you can actually do—starting today.

What Is the Best Possible Future Exercise?

The Best Possible Future exercise is a journaling + visualization technique where you imagine a future in which things have gone as well as reasonably possible—because you showed up, grew, and followed through.

You write what that life looks like in detail, then you identify the small, achievable steps that helped you get there.

This isn’t about pretending everything is perfect. It’s about building a clear inner picture of the future you want—so your brain starts spotting the next right choices.

Why It Works

When you write about a hopeful future, you often uncover:

• what you actually want (clarity)

• what matters most (values)

• what needs to change (direction)

• what you can do next (momentum)

Psychologists who study happiness and wellbeing often describe this practice as a way to strengthen optimism and guide decisions—because you’re not just imagining a dream, you’re designing a path.

SpreeSpark Goal

Turn your dreams into tiny wins for emotional wellbeing.

A best possible future is built through small actions:

• one brave conversation

• one healthy boundary

• one 10-minute walk

• one application sent

• one bedtime routine

• one kind choice toward yourself

Tiny wins add up. That’s the whole SpreeSpark philosophy.

How to Do This SpreeSpark

Time needed: 20 minutes

Supplies: paper + pen, Notes app, or a doc

Step 1: Set the scene

Picture yourself 5–10 years from today. Life has improved because you worked hard and stayed consistent.

Step 2: Write it like it’s happening now

Write in present tense. Use sensory details. Make it real.

Example starters:

• “I wake up and feel…”

• “My workday looks like…”

• “My relationships feel…”

• “I’m proud because…”

Step 3: Bridge it back to tiny wins

When you finish writing, ask:

What did I do specifically that got me here?

List 3–7 tiny wins you could start this week.

Best Possible Future Prompts (Work, Play, Relationships, Lifestyle)

Use the prompts that spark the most energy.

Work & Purpose

• What kind of work do you do—and how does it make you feel?

• What skills, certifications, training, or education helped you get there?

• What impact are you making (even in small ways)?

Money & Security

• What financial goals have you achieved?

• What habits helped you feel calmer about money?

Joy & Play

• What activities do you do “just because they make you happy”?

• What equipment, training, or supplies support those activities?

• What do you look forward to each week?

Relationships & Connection

• Who are your people?

• What relationships feel strongest—and why?

• What kind of partner/friend/community member are you?

Health, Home & Lifestyle

• Where do you live—and what do you love about it?

• What healthy choices do you practice consistently?

• What movement or fitness do you actually enjoy?

Your “Tiny Wins” Map

• What did you stop doing that gave you energy back?

• What did you start doing that changed everything?

• What boundaries or routines protect your peace?

Turn Your Vision Into Tiny Wins (Quick Plan)

Try this simple weekly format:

1. Choose one theme: Work, Health, Joy, Money, or Relationships

2. Pick one tiny win per day (10 minutes or less):

• send one email

• do physical activity

• prep one healthy snack

• write one paragraph of a resume/portfolio

3. Track it for 7 days

4. Celebrate it (yes, seriously—celebration tells your brain “do that again”)

FAQs

What is a “SpreeSpark”?

A SpreeSpark is a small, uplifting practice that builds emotional well-being through tiny wins, not pressure.

How often should I do the Best Possible Future exercise?

Do the full 20-minute version once, then repeat a shorter 5-minute version weekly or monthly to refresh your direction.

What if I don’t know what I want yet?

That’s perfect. This exercise helps you discover what feels meaningful by noticing what you naturally write about (and what you avoid).

A Gentle Next Step

If you want, try a tiny win today: Pick one area of life and identify one tiny win you can do in under 10 minutes. Small is enough.


Kendeyl is the founder of HappySpree, a playful wellness app that helps people build emotional resilience through gentle daily check-ins, gratitude, and tiny wins. She writes about simple mental health habits that feel supportive–not overwhelming.

✨ If you’d like a playful, low-pressure way to build tiny wins, try the HappySpree App — tiny wins, brighter days, and Positive Sparks that ripple outward. 

HappySpree

Feel Happier Now After A Breakup–How the 3 P’s of Learned Optimism Can Increase Happiness So You Feel Better Fast

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We are what we think.  Psychologist and well-being expert Martin Seligman found that positive thinking patterns can increase healing and recovery from adversity, and they also increase well-being and happiness.  Seligman recommends using the Three P’s of Learned Optimism:  (1) Personalization, (2) Pervasiveness, and (3) Permanence to enhance recovery after a breakup or loss, and also when you’re feeling bad for other reasons.

To feel better after a breakup, start by examining personalization. Realizing that breakups aren’t 100% your fault, think of other contributing factors that may have caused the split.  Maybe your ex’s mother didn’t like your cat, maybe job challenges stressed your relationship, or maybe single friends tempted your ex to play too often.  So, maybe you could change “this is entirely my fault” to “job stress made my ex grouchy and that didn’t help our relationship”.  Understanding personalization leads to optimistic thinking and this reduces blame and self-criticism.

Next, consider pervasiveness, which means understanding that not all areas of your life are affected by your breakup.  Breakups are difficult but focusing on non-romantic activities or relationships can make you feel better.  For instance, choose a flow activity, like learning how to play a musical instrument, writing or painting; or volunteer, or grow friend or family relationships, these activities are proven to increase happiness according to Seligman’s research.  Also, your dog or a friend’s dog will always love you no matter what.  

Finally, permanence means realizing that intense breakup pain is temporary.  Breakups can follow the grief stages discovered by psychiatrist Elizabeth Kubler-Ross:  denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.  You may move up and down through the grief stages, or not experience all of them.  You will feel better with time as you process your emotions and move towards acceptance.  For now, remember that intense pain isn’t permanent.  So if you tell yourself “My life is awful, will always be awful and I’m going to die alone and my cat will eat me” or “I’m going crazy” you’ll feel worse.  Instead, thinking “I’ll feel better with time” or “feeling sad after a breakup is normal” can help you feel better. 

Recovery Is Possible After Intense Grief

In her book Option B:  Facing Adversity, Building Resilience and Finding Joy, Cheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO, applied the three P’s to her life after her husband’s sudden death from a heart attack.  Upon reflection, Sandberg realized that her husband’s death was not her fault, some areas of her life weren’t terrible (for instance, birthday parties with her kids), and her crushing grief wouldn’t last forever.

Sandberg’s painfully honest self-reflection inspired me to use the three P’s to recover after my divorce.  I needed help stopping PTSD-like symptoms caused by ruminating about what I did wrong during my marriage and also whenever I saw my ex-husband, which was necessary during my kids’ soccer and lacrosse games.  I knew my rapid heartbeat, sweating, and difficulty breathing were harmful to me but I couldn’t stop negative thoughts. 

When thinking through the three P lens, I realized my divorce wasn’t wholly my fault.  For instance, my ex-husband’s challenges were not in my control, I hadn’t caused them, and couldn’t fix them. Further, I realized that distress from my divorce no longer impacts most of my life, and the pain from my marriage is decreasing every day.

As my guilt and self-blame lessened I felt better about my self and my future. Also, I noticed the Three P’s had calmed my stress response. For the first time when thinking about my breakup, my breathing and heartbeat felt normal, and I wasn’t sweating.  A deep sense of relief and gratitude towards Dr. Seligman and his research swelled in my heart.

Optimistic thinking also helps adolescents.  In one study, participants ages 10-15, with low to moderate hopelessness, utilized cognitive behavioral therapy, including the three P’s, to improve depression, anxiety, hopelessness, and coping (Gillham et al., 2012).  I could identify with the study participants, as I had experienced hopelessness while married.  Indeed, the three P’s can help us gain insight leading to success both at school and at home.

Also, this knowledge helps defeat passivity, which is the default response to shock caused by adversity, and we must work to overcome this to increase wellbeing.  Learning how to control thoughts and behaviors can overcome passivity.

The three P’s are a powerful thought tool we can apply to all areas in our lives.  So, like Sandberg’s recovery after her husband’s death, the students overcoming hopelessness, and me changing negative thinking to positive, the three P’s increased my happiness and well-being. I hope you’ll use them to do the same for you.

Want more happiness and to track your happiness trends?  Join HappySpree

About the author(s)

 

Kendeyl Johansen

Kendeyl Johansen is a tech geek creating inspirational multimedia content to increase happiness and health for individuals and organizations.