I was speaking with a good friend recently about that wonderful emotion Joy. I thought we all knew what joy was, how it feels and what would bring us more joy in our lives, but I was wrong. So let’s go over it.
According to the Cambridge Dictionary Joy is defined as:
For me what distinguishes joy from happiness, is its spontaneity. You never know when it is going to come along, but when it does, you instantly recognise it for what it is.
Joy can come in the most mundane experiences, or it can appear in new and exciting experiences.
Joy only appears when you are enjoying yourself and the feeling is impossible to force. It either comes or it doesn’t. You either feel it or you don’t. You can create the perfect circumstances for joy to occur and it doesn’t show up. You can recreate experiences that have previously experienced joy in and nothing.
But when it does show up – oh boy – it is so much more than happiness. It is elation. It is smiling from ear to ear. It is a high of endorphins, better than any rush you’d get from drugs. It fills your heart, your head, your entire body with excitement, pleasure and a desire to keep doing what you’re doing. It feels incredible.
I love joy. How could anyone not? And while we can’t guarantee that joy will show up, we can do things to make it more likely to happen. These include:
- Connect with people that make us smile, laugh and offer us unconditional love and acceptance.
- Pursue activities that bring us pleasure, particularly exercise, sports and creative endevours.
- Spend time in places of natural beauty.
- Step out of our comfort zones to experience new things, including new activities and new places.
- Breaking routines, so that our brains experience novelty and learning, which are both key to new brain cell growth.
- Starting any activity with a kind, positive and enjoyment mindset.
What struck me, talking with my friend, was that we can get too bogged down with the day-to-day life challenges, that we completely forget that joy exists. We forget it exists and therefore forget to go off in search of joy.
So here’s a gentle reminder, to anyone out there who needs it: Look out for joy each day. And try to create opportunities for joy to show up for you.
Blog soon,
Antony
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