I remember once posting on Facebook to make sure you do something that brings you joy every day. It seemed to evoke an outrage that I would even suggest such a thing. I heard about how there isn't time and wishes something like that was even possible. Hmm, maybe our definition of joy needs to be revisited.
Joy is anything that you enjoy. It's part of the word! It seems that when we think of joy we only bring up thoughts of uncontrollable laughter or being in a zen state that happens while on vacation. This is the problem. Joy is anything that you like. If we change our expectation of joy we change how much of it we can have. Not that I don't think you can't have uncontrollable laughter or feelings of zen everyday. I do indeed think you can. You can listen to podcasts, programs, watch comedy shows or talk to a good friend for some laughter. You can feel zen by taking warm baths, inhaling your favorite scents, reading good books, listening to your favorite music. But it's actually more simple than that.
I've mentioned before that I love a body scrub I get from Bath and Body Works. It's a little bit of luxury in a bottle and I get to use it everyday. It smells great and makes my skin feel dewey soft. I consider that a bit of joy. It starts my day off right with some joy right off the bat. How do you like your coffee? A little bit of cream or some sugar? Try it without those things and you will find the way you take your coffee actually brings you joy. Make a favorite flavor and it's all bonus territory. What is your favorite lunch? Is it healthy? Then eat it as often as possible. I eat the same exact lunch every single day. I love it! It's a salad with some fixins, my husbands homemade chicken salad and my favorite light dressing. I can't wait to eat it everyday. It literally brings me joy. I don't mean jumping up and down with excitement joy but it is something that I love and look forward to every day.
Let's just try to add more things into our daily routine that bring us joy, no matter how small they seem to you. And build from there. Once you start looking forward to the little things they will compile. Before you know it you will be doing several things a day that brings you joy.
Something that may really help is to write out a list (yes, I mean it) of things that you love, bring you joy or things you look forward to. Post it somewhere you can see it often throughout the day or inside your planner. Plan these things into your day. No, you can't do everything every day but you can do numerous little things that add up to more and more joy in your day. There is no reason why you can't listen to your favorite music, contact a friend, laugh at a show you love or even take a bath every day. The trick is to feel the joy as you do it. Just like many things in our lives we take for granted we take the things we enjoy for granted as well. Like the coffee example. If you don't consider your cup of coffee a little joy, fix it differently than normal and you will realize how much you appreciate that cup every morning. Make the list as simple as possible and you will soon find yourself with joy filled days.
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It's Tuesday. Are you going to have a taco? I will not but hope you do! Go out and find some joy today. And be badass about it. I'm right here, cheering you on.
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