What would you appreciate more if you imagined it had never become part of your life? 💭 That question is at the heart of mental subtraction, a one-minute exercise that asks people to imagine the absence of a valued relationship, job, pet, or experience. In a series of experiments published in 2008, participants who imagined that a positive event had never happened often reported greater positive emotion than those who simply reflected on the event. Suzie White, assistant professor educator at the University of Cincinnati, explains how mental subtraction differs from a traditional gratitude list and how connecting the exercise to an everyday habit can make it easier to practice. 📖 Explore the research behind mental subtraction and learn how to try it through TIME: lnkd.in/grPTeSBb