We think the happier.com exercises are pretty cool. And, the last thirty years of research show that making a commitment to doing these exercises as a part of your daily and weekly routines will increase your happiness, decrease your pessimism, and improve your resilience. But, don’t take my word for it – the happier.com user community has spoken. A group of users was asked to rate several exercises on a scale of one to five (1 – poor, 2 – not very good, 3 – good, 4 – very good, 5 – excellent) and the average was 4 – or, “very good.”

Not surprisingly, three good things was rated the highest of the first three exercises with a 4.5. This exercise is easy to use and has been proven to yield immediate results. I do this exercise every night on happier.com. No matter how bad my day is, this always make me feel better. And, I love the fact that I can look back over time to see what I am most grateful for in my life. (Just for the record, it’s family, exercise, work, and friends. So, now I make these priorities for me.)

The next highest rating was awarded to have a good a good day (3.9 out of 5).  have a good day allows users to take a quick look at the activities of the day, rate the day on a scale of 1 to 10, and then determine which activity was the “best.” According to happier.com consultant Dr. Chris Peterson, do this exercise every day for about a month and you will learn what makes a “good day.” “In my own case, I discovered that a good day was one in which I finished something that had been nagging at me, either at work, for example, sending off letters of recommendation for a student applying to law schools, or at home, for example vacuuming my living room,” says Peterson. happier.com makes this incredibly easy by allowing you to look at your activities and days from multiple views.

Next on the list is the control negative thoughts exercise (3.9 out of 5). Working at a growing start-up company (even one that is focused on happiness) brings its stressful moments. This exercise has helped me stop the negative spiral on more than one occasion. What is really powerful about the happier.com version of this is that I can look at my negative thoughts over time and see patterns. By recognizing patterns, I have become more mindful which has allowed me to control the negativity before it really affects my mood and ability to function at a high level.

Which exercise is your favorite? Please feel free to leave a comment. (If you cannot see the comment section, click here then scroll down.)

Over the course of the next couple of weeks, we will ask members of the community to rate the remaining exercises. After that we will build a rating system right into happier.com (much like that of Amazon.com) where users can rate exercises at any time, provide full reviews, and even tell us if you found the review to be helpful.

Doug Hensch, part of the team at happier.com

happier.com is a personal trainer for your happiness. With more than a dozen tools and tests to help you measure, track and improve your happiness, you can trust the happier.com experts to help you reach your goals. Exclusive videos and a popular blog mean there’s something new to learn every day. Download the free iPhone application or find what you’re looking for with the Positive Psychology Practitioner Directory. happier.com is on Facebook, LinkedIn, and twitter and has meetup groups in Washington, Philadelphia, and Portland, with more planned. Click here for a social media press release from our launch.