Build a positivity portfolio, they said.

I went to a friend's place for dinner the other night. He had a monitor in his kitchen with a screensaver of rotating images, all of his friends and cherished memories. At first, I assumed it was just a regular screensaver cycling through his photos.

Yes and no. This friend earned his master's degree in positive psychology at UPenn. One of the closing assignments of the program was to create a positivity portfolio — a collection of images designed to elicit positive emotions. That screensaver was his portfolio. It displayed photos he had carefully chosen to bring him joy. He sees them every day.

Not only that — he also consistently adds new images to the portfolio. After jamming, we took a photo together — sitar and banjo in hand. I feel honored to be included in that collection.

The idea is brilliant, frankly. It’s such a simple, low-effort way to bring a little extra joy into your daily life.

Of course, many of us already do this in some form with house decor — photo frames and memorabilia from our travels. But the explicit framing of a positivity portfolio refines what we choose to display. It encourages us to fill our homes with things that spark joy.

I plan to create my own positivity portfolio, and I invite you to do the same. Let’s go through our photos and see which ones make the cut. Let’s make that screensaver. Heck, maybe we’ll even print a few dozen favorites.

It’s the little things that can make a big difference in our day. Let’s make this little portfolio, shall we?