Finding JOY in EVERY DAY

Describe your life in one word.

What would that one word be?

At the end of the day, what would you like to say about your life?

For many of us, we just want a happy life.  I like to elaborate a bit more and describe it as a deep joy and fulfillment.  Something that is not fleeting, but that is meaningful and lasts.

It’s true that we don’t have to look far to see the negativity in our world.  We can find it pretty much everywhere; they showcase it in the media, it’s in our homes and at our schools.  We cannot deny it’s presence, and we still need to be aware of it.

BUT…

The danger arises when we focus too much on it. A hyper focus on negativity can contribute to feelings of anxiety and depression, and it’s important for us to be mindful and intentionally focus on positive things as well- things that bring joy and give joy.  What we focus on we feel.

Our main focus at One Life Inc. is to focus on life skills for holistic living.  We’ve realized that everything is interconnected.  Our mind, body and soul affect our quality of life, and our health, wealth and relationships all affect each other.  When we search for joy, we have to keep these things in mind.

Sometimes life can get mundane, repetitive, overwhelming and even boring…

In the midst of this pandemic as well, much of the world has been locked down, and we have been “stuck” at home.  It has been challenging mentally on many levels- from job losses, to online school to grief from covid deaths.

After months and years of dealing with one thing to another, many are struggling to feel and find happiness and joy, and very understandably so!

In one of my own challenging times, I started this exercise that I would like to share with you.  I call it my JOY LIST.

It’s pretty much an ongoing list of all the fun, happy and joyful things I like to do.  There are bigger items that I might plan for a weekend, like a camping trip or a short vacay to a tropical island.  There are shorter quicker items that we can plan at home like a movie night or a taco dinner.  There is even an online section with games and movies that we can watch with family members overseas.  There is also a list of places we’d like to travel to and the things we want to do there.

I’ve categorized them in this  way so it’s easy to pick one and drop it into my schedule.  Just as we plan our meetings and extracurriculars, it is equally as important to plan joy into our lives as well.  If we don’t, we run the risk of all work and no play.  Joy can come from many things- from a simple hug to deep conversation, from laughing so hard your stomach hurts to watching the sunrise. Many of the things that bring joy can be absolutely…free.

I encourage you to do this exercise with your family and loved ones and let everyone contribute items that bring them joy to the list.  When doing this exercise, keep in mind that sometimes the greatest joy comes from giving to others and seeing the people you love happy.  If you do make this a family exercise, each member can take turns choosing one thing from the list.  Whether you choose to implement one thing daily, weekly or monthly is completely up to you :)

I hope this post will help you to remember to spend some time focusing on positivity and holistic living, and give you a quick tool to plan some joy into your life.

Until next time,

Carpe diem!