Table 1.

Content of “This is your life” and recommended exercises for participants in the experimental conditions.

Module	Recommended exercises	Theoretical background
1. Positive emotions	Diary of pleasant emotions: What happened, who was there, what did you feel, what did you thought?	Fredrickson, 1998 [48]; Fredrickson, 2001 [49]; Fredrickson, 2009 [50]
	Three good things: Think about three things that went well today and savor those moments.
2. Discovering strengths	Overview of your strengths: Which of the 47 strengths do you have and which of these give you energy and pleasure?	Linley et al., 2010 [51]; Linley and Harrington, 2006 [52]
	Identify your strengths I: Answer the 10 questions (ie, who inspires you?) that will help you to discover your strengths.
	Identify your strengths II: Which strengths do you recognize in answering the 10 questions?
	Vision of others: Ask 3-5 people about your top 5 strengths with examples from daily life.
	Top 5 strengths: Based on all previous exercises, choose your top 5 strengths that also give you energy and pleasure.
3. Use of strengths, flow	Change “must” into “want”: Make a list of things you don’t like but must do. What are underlying intrinsic motivations?	Csikszentmihalyi, 2001 [53]
	Flow: Have you experienced flow and why?
	Flow at the moment: How much flow did you experience the preceding week? When, how?
	Challenge yourself: How can you create more flow in your life? Use your strengths in a new way.
4. Optimism, hope	ABC-Diary: What do you think and do when something negative happens? How can you challenge favorite pessimistic thoughts?	Carver et al., 2010 [54]; Scheier and Carver, 1992 [55]; Seligman, 1990 [56]
	Imagine your best possible self: Visualize yourself in the personal, relational, and professional domain.
5. Self-compassion	Wish yourself something good: Be mindful and identify your greatest need at this moment. Use your inner voice to repeat your compassionate wish.	Gilbert, 2009 [57]; Neff, 2003 [58]; Neff and Germer, 2012 [59]
	Develop a compassionate inner voice: Write 5 minutes about situations in the preceding week wherein you showed self-compassion.
6. Resilience	Coping style: Take the test to identify your prominent coping style(s).	Joseph, 2011 [60]; Joseph and Linley, 2006 [61]; Tedeschi and Calhoun, 2004 [62]
	Expressive writing: Write 15 minutes on at least 4 days about emotions, thoughts, and feelings around a negative or positive event.
	Needs: What are your specific needs at this moment? Who should know your needs?
7. Positive relations (I)	Active-constructive responding: Respond positively to good news shared by others. Use active communication skills, how does the other react?	Gable et al., 2004 [63]; Reis and Gable, 2003 [64]; Reis et al., 2010 [65]; Rosenberg, 2009 [66]
	Listen compassionately: Try to use elements of compassionate listening, such as “What feelings and needs does the other express?”
	Expressing gratitude: Write a gratitude letter and/or read it aloud to the person you are thankful to.
8. Positive relations (II)	Relaxation/meditation: Relax by doing a “body scan”, physical exercise, or “stand like a tree”.	Bloom, 2011 [67]; Otake et al., 2006 [68]
	Reflect on your needs: What are your intrinsic goals, needs and motives? Do you live those needs and why (not)?
	Acts of kindness: Rejoice somebody by performing an unexpected act of kindness or by doing volunteer work.