What is "Joy" and how can we find it?
Ring in the new year!! With the smell of mistletoe still lingering and the sound of New Years Cheer in the air, all I can feel around me is joy. Something makes me wonder, though, if you feel joy too? I’ve heard so many depressing stories of ringing in the New Year with zero expectations or goals and holiday debt in tow. The idea that some people don’t view the new year as a new, fresh opportunity to rise above and break barriers or create a more positive life for themselves, it truly breaks my heart.
What is joy?
Let’s take a moment in silent meditation. Take this moment to find some silence and reflect on your life. Take a deep breath. Think about a time you felt pure, heartfelt gratitude for a certain person or situation. Feel that moment. Let the memory fill your heart and your body with that same gratitude you felt at that time. How does it feel in your mind? How does it feel in your heart? Capture this feeling. Hold onto this feeling. Take another deep breath.
Real, true joy is the deep experience of internal happiness and peace that you feel when something directly aligns with your true self and your core values.
This is totally different than the feeling of pleasure, which is an external feeling of happiness derived from an external source.
For example: pleasure is experience when someone gives you a gift as a surprise or you recieve a massage. Joy is present for no reason; it’s the simple feeling of happiness while connecting with yourself and being present in the moment.
Stress, Stress Go Away
Joy is not only good for our mental state, it’s a great way to kick holiday stress in the ass. The feeling of joy triggers a release of endorphins, relaxes the body, and eliviates feelings of stress and anxiety in the body (bye, bye tension headaches). It’s a tangible meter for us to use to measure our mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual levels of health. We can call it our joy-o-meter.
This magical emotion only functions properly when we are faced with challenging situations and remain in a joyful state. It’s so easy to allow things to come up and bog down our joy-o-meter. But, to experience joy is a conscious choice. We choose to take full control and continue to focus on being in a deep state of happiness or we can chose to be miserable. (This is obviously not speaking about those who suffer from any type of mental disorders including depression, that’s a very serious condition and should be treated with self-love and gentleness toward one’s mental state).
Joy is personal empowerment
It’s time to take control of your joy-o-meter and learn how to raise your levels of joy. But, how can you actually become the gatekeeper to your health and happiness?
Make decisions aligned with your core values and your true self
Continually check in with yourself to make sure you are aligned with those values and you are making a conscious effort to choose happiness over misery
Ask yourself:
What does joy mean to me?
Am I investing time into creating joy in my life?
What creates a deep sense of peace, gratitude, and fulfillment in my life?
On a scale of 1- 10, how satisfied am I with my level of satisfaction in this area?
Dear Diary
Now, it’s time to keep track! One time of self reflection isn’t going to bring your joy-o-meter to 10 instantly. To create a level 10x life, it takes practice and persistence. It’s often helpful to keep a diary or progress tracker to see your progress in tangible form. I’ve created a simple ebook, 15 Days to Uplevel, to help you keep track of your progress in all the primary food categories; download it and get started today!
