Proč jsem vytvořil Delightful

Hi! Back in 2014, I was dealing with anxiety and depression about the future. I had just quit my first job out of college and flew to Mexico to visit my father. He told me to pursue what felt right — to trust myself, even when I couldn't see the full path.

That advice meant everything to me, because I didn't get many moments like that with him. My father was deported to Mexico when I was three years old. I didn't grow up with him. So every conversation, every visit, every piece of advice he shared — I held onto all of it.

During that trip, I was practicing the 3 good things exercise in a notes app — just writing down a few good things from each day. And I kept thinking: there has to be a simpler, more focused way to do this. Something designed just for this one practice. That idea stuck with me.

I had no idea how to code at the time. But the idea wouldn't let go, so I taught myself — just to build it. I called it “Afewthings” (weird name, I know). It was part project, part therapy. I didn't know it yet, but the research behind this practice was one of the most validated interventions in positive psychology.

Sometime before that trip, my father had been diagnosed with cancer. He passed away in 2016. I was fortunate to have spent a week with him just a month before.

I still think about his advice constantly. Trust yourself. Follow what feels right. Build something that matters.

It's been over a decade since that trip to Mexico. Life looks completely different now — I have a family, kids, and a much clearer sense of what I'm here to do. The anxiety is still there sometimes (I think it always will be), but the depression is long gone. Gratitude played a real part in that.

Along the way I explored everything I could find about well-being, mindfulness, and what actually helps people feel better — not in a self-help-guru way, but in a practical, everyday way. What I kept coming back to was this: the simplest tools are often the most powerful. Writing down three good things. Noticing what went right. Taking two minutes before bed to reflect.

That's what Delightful is. Not a complicated productivity system. Not a social network for gratitude. Just a quiet, private space to notice the good in your life — even on the hard days. Especially on the hard days.

I believe happiness should be free. I believe we can build our own happiness with the right tools and a little support. That's why Delightful is completely free. No ads. No subscriptions. No paywalls.

If this app helps even one person have a slightly better evening, notice something good they would have missed, or feel a little less alone — then it was all worth it.

Děkuji, že jsi tady. 🧡

— René