Joy is one of my favourite topics... It is there even on the toughest days, just waiting for you to notice it. It doesn't need to cost a thing, and in can totally change your life...
This week on instagram I have been chatting about joy and I have been encouraging people to look for #onejoyfulthing. It is hugely powerful to actively seek out joy and focus in on it. For those who received my email last week you may be thinking that this isn't very surprising given that the more you focus on particular things the more your brain will filter other similar things in to your consciousness. And this is absolutely true.
But it's not the only way that it supports us. Seeking pockets of joy helps us to move away from a much more unhelpful goal. The goal of seeking out happiness in a pervasive, must be happy all the time to be successful sort of way. The reality is of course, that being happy all the time is simply not a useful or achievable goal. There is absolutely nobody who is happy all the time,and thinking that we can be or seeking to be is only going to leave us disappointed.
On the other hand, we can all find something that brings us joy in our day. The idea of seeking out one joyful thing is not to limit you to finding one moment of joy, it's to make it non-negotiable that you find at least one joyful thing. When you spot that thing, take a moment, consider it, how do you feel now you have noticed it? Are you grateful for it? What is it about this moment or this thing that makes you feel good? You could even write down what it is and how you're feeling about it for bonus points from me!
If you get to the end of the day and you haven't really focused on a particularly joyful moment in your day, the really cool thing about this approach is that you can create your own moment of joy. You could phone a friend, or make your self your favourite drink, or run a bath, or read a poem, or look back over old photos on your phone. Whatever you choose to do, focus in on it and really notice how you're feeling.
Knowing at the start of each day that you have the power not only to find joy, but to create joy too is an incredibly powerful thing. Whatever else is going on around us, we have that power which means we also have control over our emotions and experiences.
So, give it a try and focus every day on at least one joyful thing. If you need a bit of a reminder to find your moment of joy come over and join me on instagram where I will be posting about my #onejoyfulthing every day in my stories.
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