Sometimes we encounter wonderful things in unexpected places. Initially as a delicate spark that later unfolds into a glow. Our joint column has a history that describes this gentle growth and mutual inspiration and has brought us both, Nora and Jasmin, closer together in a surprising way. We have written down what happened. The result is an article that inspires you to invite (even more) good things into your own life and thus strengthen your mental health and self-efficacy.
- How it all began – on Instagram
- Shared confidence strengthens body and soul
- Our video call
- “Good things”: the power of a new habit
- Learning to see good things: how habits work
- An impulse that draws circles
- Mindfulness exercises, habits, affirmations:
Individual ways to invite good things into your life - About Jasmin
How it all began – on Instagram
Jasmin explains: “It all started very inconspicuously – on Instagram. We followed each other there without knowing each other better. But then in October 2025 (at exactly the right moment for me), you mentioned in a post that you had a frozen shoulder. And that’s exactly when I was feeling really bad about my own shoulder problem. I was in pain, totally insecure and actively looking for information on what I could do. What you then did really surprised me: you sent me a DM and offered me your help. I remember thinking: ‘Wow, that’s really rare – someone just giving me their time like that!
Shared confidence strengthens body and soul
When I read Jasmin’s comment that she was also affected, I knew exactly what she was going through. How this disease can make you despair. And how much the constant pain affects the psyche.
At the time, I had already been dealing with my shoulder condition for a year. After the low point in March 2026, when I could only lift my right arm 30 degrees and was in constant pain, the third orthopaedist finally made the correct diagnosis: frozen shoulder. This term refers to capsulitis adhesiva, an extremely painful and protracted inflammation of the joint capsule.
The diagnosis marked the turning point in my medical history from suffering in despair to taking active action, which also slowly made me feel better mentally. In order to avoid an operation, I started working intensively on my physical recovery with physiotherapy, daily mini-exercise sessions at home and shock wave therapy. My mobility finally improved again, very slowly. The pain also became more bearable. What a happy milestone when I felt my hands touching above my head again for the first time in a year during gymnastics! I posted this on Instagram along with information about the frozen shoulder, which Jasmin responded to. So I sent her a voice message, offering to share and encourage her.
Jasmin: “I wasn’t feeling very well mentally or emotionally at the time. With a condition like frozen shoulder, and probably with many chronic or long-term conditions, you lose confidence over time. You think: ‘This will never get better’. The fact that you wrote to me just like that made me feel supported and seen.”
Our video call
During our video call, we immediately had a deep understanding for each other. We shared our experiences. Jasmin also briefly mentioned an empowering daily ritual that she had been performing for some time, combined with the sentence “Good things are always happening to me”. This touched me and planted a seed in my subconscious that began to germinate months later. One morning, the thought was there and with it the gentle affirmation: “May good things happen to me.” This sentence allowed me to start the day with renewed confidence.
At first I didn’t realize that the wording from Jasmin’s ritual had changed, but later I noticed it. Both sentences have in common that we invite good things into our lives with them. It quickly became clear that this was the idea for a column. Jasmin, please tell us how exactly you use the statement “Good things are always happening to me”. To what extent is it more than just an affirmation? You talked about everyday rituals and being a habit coach, so now I’m curious.
“Good things”: the power of a new habit
In addition to the frozen shoulder, during this phase I had the energy-sapping task of moving my mother into a care home and dissolving her apartment. Since my burnout in 2016, I’ve been interested in anything that can support our mental health. I realized how my reserves of strength were depleting. During this challenging time, I found a post on Instagram that totally inspired me:
A friend made the suggestion to start a note in my phone called ‘good things always happening to me’ and to purposefully find something to add to it every day. Absolute game changer.
(@dimplez, viral post, first published at the end of 2024 on various social media profiles, later also on @tinybuddhaofficial)
Something about this suggestion gave me pause, because to be honest, I was already a bit fed up with my classic gratitude diary at the time. It felt more like a duty, another task. Writing down three things to be grateful for in the evening had become just another to-do on my list, but nothing that actually strengthened me.
Learning to see good things: how habits work
As a Habit Coach, trained in the Tiny Habits Academy with Linda Fogg-Phillips, I am always on the lookout for routines that change something in the brain for the better.
A habit is a behavior that becomes routine through repetition, ideally linked to an existing anchor in everyday life. The Tiny Habits method, in which I am trained, is about embedding small behaviors into the day in such a way that they become established by themselves without using up willpower. It is easy to understand why the psychological mindfulness exercise initiated by Dimplez has become a worldwide trend. You quickly experience for yourself how effective this habit is and how well it directs your focus to the positive aspects of life.
So I incorporated this new habit into my daily routine and have been practicing it every day ever since. My rule is very simple: after I have written my diary entry (which I do anyway), I add one good thing that happened to me today. Since I’ve been doing this, I’ve realized that the author really was right about the term “game changer”, because this simple exercise tricks our negativity bias. Our brains are evolutionarily programmed to scan everything that has gone wrong in order to protect us. On the other hand, we often take the good things for granted and immediately forget about them. Or don’t even notice it in the first place.
By writing down every evening what good things have happened to me, I train my view. I no longer see myself as the one actively looking for reasons to be grateful. I see myself more as an observer of life’s gifts.
Examples of “gifts of life”
I think of something every day, even if I sometimes have to think a bit. Here are a few examples:
- An encouraging message or a saying picture from a dear friend.
- My son, who brings me a glass of orange juice without being asked.
- A productive meeting in my volunteer position at Action for Happiness where someone says thank you.
- Or your message when you asked me if we wanted to work together on this column.
What I find important: for me, it’s never about completely ignoring the negative or smiling everything away in a toxically positive way. The pain is still there, just like all the worries and challenges. But with this mini-habit, you can develop into an identity that is increasingly open to good things happening to us. This attitude towards life is also part of my work with clients who are going through a mentally challenging time themselves or are confronted with a long-term pain condition. I am delighted when I am able to strengthen and support women so that, despite ongoing challenges, they can increasingly find their own strength, better access existing resources and develop new ones.
In relation to my frozen shoulder and the stressful phase with my mother, I realized again that there is not only pain and frustration in my life, but also a lot of beauty, light and joy. This gives me incredible hope and strengthens my optimism. And I say that as someone who doesn’t automatically have this optimism (I have to work for it every day). As a result, the daily check “good things happening to me” has become a loving habit and a tool for me to trust life more. I now notice this when I think during the day: “Oh, that’s something good right now, I’ll write that down tonight!” So I experience moments in a doubly positive way.
An impulse that draws circles
I find it fascinating to see how the idea is spreading. I know of at least one person in my community who now also practices this exercise as a daily habit because she has seen how it helps me.
And then came our conversation the other day, Nora. You told me that this is how you acquired the phrase “May good things happen to me”. I think it’s so beautiful because it complements my habit so perfectly. My approach looks back at what has happened and your phrase is like an affirmation, an invitation to the future. You could also practice both together, honoring what has happened and inviting what is to come.
Mindfulness exercises, habits, affirmations: Individual ways to invite good into your life
I am happy to take up this thought of yours, Jasmin. We can invite good things into our lives in many different ways: consciously observing, actively affirming or through daily habits. Now we are both curious to see whether our column will inspire you directly or whether it will germinate as a delicate seed in your subconscious. Either way, we wish you: may good things happen to you, may you recognize them and enjoy them.
About the author
Nora Hille was born in 1975, is happily married and has two children. She studied history, literature and media studies, worked in communications/public relations for 12 years and has now retired for health reasons. Today she writes articles on the topics of mental health and mental illness as a sufferer and experience expert. She also writes literary essays, poems (preferably haikus) and short prose. She regularly publishes her mental health column here at FemalExperts Magazine and is Editor of eXperimenta - the magazine for literature, art and society. Anti-stigma work is close to her heart: she is an encourager at Mutmachleute e.V. and is committed to Anti-Stigma-Texts against the stigmatization (exclusion) of the mentally ill in our society for more togetherness, tolerance and equality. In autumn 2023 her book "When Light Defeats Darkness" will be published by Palomaa Publishing. A book of encouragement about how to live a good and rich life despite bipolar illness - and the enormous challenge that this means every day for the inner balance of those affected.
