Close your eyes for a moment and imagine complete delight. It may be sitting in the sun on a nice day, knowing that your adult children are on their way to see you. Or it may be the inverse: finally, some peace and quiet in the house after a hectic week. Joy may appear ephemeral, even unusual, yet there are methods to grow closer to it on a regular basis. This article will help you answer the question How to find joy in life.
Many people confuse joy with happiness, and while they are closely connected and frequently occur concurrently, these feel-good feelings are not equivalent. Happiness is an emotion that produces bursts of extreme pleasure, excitement, and satisfaction, but joy is a stronger, longer-term state that produces feelings of inner serenity and happiness.
Table of Contents
Do you struggle with finding joy?
Do you ever feel that it’s tough to find joy in life amid challenging times? Do you always question How to find joy in life? Perhaps keeping a mental list of simple habits to try out on a weekly basis would help you to feel happier even in the midst of adversity. You may try something as easy as listening to music in the shower to see if it improves your mood.
Do you ever wonder how much closer you would be to reaching your objectives if you were happier? These happy sentiments might derive from coming home and seeing your pet racing to welcome you, or from waking up and knowing you have no commitments for the day.
Whatever pleasure means to you, it may be harnessed in surprisingly simple ways, especially during terrible times when it might be difficult to remember what it feels like to be joyful. So, here are some methods on how to find joy in life through difficult circumstances that you may implement in your everyday life.
Let the past go
Unless you live there, your history is not your future – and living there hinders you from learning how to find joy in the present. If you’ve lost a loved one, left a relationship, or been experiencing financial difficulties, these are all reasonable causes to be depressed. Allow yourself to be sad or lonely, but never despair. What can you learn about yourself through your experiences and emotions? After that, let go of the past. You have earned the right to experience delight once more.
Make a list of all the things that make you happy
What makes you happy? The question is easy enough, but when was the last time you gave it serious thought? Thinking about what actually makes you happy—whether it’s spending time with friends, elements of your job, or something altogether different—can help you make time for what truly counts. It’s generally easy to consider what could offer us joy when we recall moments when we’ve been joyful in the past. In order to answer the question How to find joy in life? Make a list of all the things, places and people that give you joy.
Straighten your spiral out
When we are unhappy, we have a propensity to spin off and worry about everything else that is wrong in our life. So, be more deliberate about recognizing what you do have. Even if it’s as basic as the legs that allow you to stand erect. And it doesn’t have to be as corny as keeping a gratitude journal: “Choose something you do every day, like brushing your teeth or waiting for the coffee to boil, and use that time to think on what you are grateful for at that moment.”
It is not joy that causes us to be grateful. We are glad because we are appreciative. If you are someone who does a lot of over-thinking then you should learn how to stop overthinking and start living.
Be the main character
Loneliness or the fear of being lacking is the most common anxiety individuals face in life, and it stifles joy. You become the primary character of your life tale by filling that gap with self-love.
When you no longer feel the need to be constantly surrounded by people and are content to spend time with yourself, you are experiencing joy. It suggests that everyone in your life is a fantastic supporting cast, and you are the star of the show. When you attain this, you become more self-reliant, and it is much simpler to maintain your happiness.
Don’t be afraid to let your inner child shine
We tend to lose touch with our inner kid, our capacity to be goofy and have fun as we get older. The key to keeping connected to the sensation of joy, though, is to remind us of our young energy. To feel full happiness, we sometimes need to ride the roller coaster, roll down a grassy hill, or have a sleepover as we did as kids. We may shake off the doldrums and actually enjoy ourselves by periodically letting go of
any rigidity that comes with growing up.
Be grateful for the little things in life
When we are going through a tough moment, we might get so preoccupied with the future or the past. We overlook the basic joys of life in the now. It may be the sound of a child’s laughter, an unexpected rainbow in the sky, or discovering an onion ring in a basket of shoestring fries. These small joys in life are frequently ignored. Taking the time to appreciate them can make each day more enjoyable.
Another approach to how to find joy in life is to practice appreciation. We instantly discover more joy in our daily lives when we remind ourselves to enjoy the little things in life. Like the fresh air we breathe or excellent friends and family. You can also try gratitude journaling as it has a significant impact on your life.
Take a Break from the Lights
Creating a flow between the urge to focus and the ability to relax can assist you in discovering greater delight. There are moments when you need to be in the spotlight. And there are others when you need to be in the shadows.
Sleeping, eating comfort food, or simply relaxing and doing nothing need less energy than the shadows. When it comes time for a business presentation or a school test, you are thrust back into the spotlight. Expending all of the energy that you had stored up in the shadows.
Many people burn out after spending too much time in the spotlight. You must be deliberate in remembering to spend time in the darkness. Striking a balance between the two will help you establish greater equilibrium. You will learn to recognize and appreciate when you are most joyful.
Conclusion to how to find joy in life
Joy is a feeling and a state of being that we all aspire for, and discovering it does not take a lot of work. These suggestions are all instances of simple action actions you can do to feel more at ease and happy. And you may already be doing them without realizing it. So, over the following several weeks, push yourself to embrace two or three new. Bliss-inducing behaviors and watch your joy in life expand.
The Evolve app is now live globally on Android & Apple, click here to try it for free!
Co-founder and brains at LeapX by C32 Media Labs
Mail at sarah@c32.media to connect with her.