Just about everyone wants a little more JOY in their life – especially these days! Whether you’re thriving or simply surviving the pandemic roller-coaster, you have to admit that the unknowns can cause an avalanche of anxiety.

Bring on the Joy!

What is Joy?

Joy is not the same as happiness. Happiness is dependent on circumstances, but joy is a deeper emotion that can exist even in the midst of tough times. Joy looks to the eternal, not the temporal. Joy recognizes that beauty can be discovered in the mundane, in obstacles, and even in tragedies.

Joy is slowly sipping a warm mug of coffee while curled in a blanket on the couch.

Joy is squishing your toes in the sand as you listen to the waves crash on the beach.

Joy is also holding your loved one’s hand as they pass on from this life to the next, even as tears stream down your face.

A simple way to create more joy

If joy seems scarce, I have a challenge for you. On your next Personal Retreat Day, set a timer for 10 minutes and quickly write down as many things as you can think of that bring a smile to your heart. When the timer goes off, look through your list. Notice which of the things you wrote down can easily be incorporated into your everyday life.

When I did this exercise, I came up with 24 “joys” in ten minutes. 24!! Of those 24, only two were things that required excessive time and money (sure, vacationing in the Dominican Republic brings a lot of joy but it also costs a ton of cash!) The rest of the things on my list were life’s little pleasures: sipping a homemade margarita on the porch, soaking in a scalding-hot bubble bath, enjoying an evening stroll around the block with my husband as we share stories from the day. These normal, everyday pleasures can become a source of joy if they are met with mindfulness and presence. (A wonderful book that expands on this idea is One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.)

Once you’ve written down your joy list, don’t hide it in a drawer. Print it out and place it where you’ll see it often – maybe hanging from a magnet on your refrigerator door, as a screen-saver on your laptop, or taped to your bathroom mirror so you’ll see it while you brush your teeth in the morning. Challenge yourself to bring one small joyful activity into each day. Your heart will smile!

PRD Activity Cheat Sheet:

1. Set a 10 minute timer and write down a list of things that bring you joy

2. Post the list where you’ll see it often

3. Try to incorporate one small thing each day from your joy list

One more thing before you go:

Would you inspire the PRD community with your joy list by sharing it on our Facebook page?