How to Find Joy in Everyday Life

Ask yourself how happy are you on a scale of 1 to 10?

I’m hoping that most of you answer more than 7 on the scale of happiness because many studies suggest that these days it’s little hard to spot happiness among people.

A few days back, I was talking to a dear friend of mine, who doesn’t seem to be in a happier space. Mind you, she has a great job, a lot of friends, and is doing fairly well in life. She told me, “You know Vartika, I’ve achieved all that I wanted to — the best job, living in a happening city but I don’t feel happy anymore.”

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She continued, “I miss being a child when life was much simpler and happier as there were no burdens, responsibilities, and expectations to live up to. Little things like ice-creams, holidays, picnics, shopping were the biggest joys in my life. And, now when I’ve all grown up, I have realized that even spending money on the most expensive things can’t really add up to our happiness levels.”

I felt bad for her but to lighten up her mood, I ordered her favorite chocolate brownie. Guess what? Chocolate brownie did what it was expected to do and she was cheered up all over again. That’s exactly when it hit me — the secret to happiness. We aren’t happy because we’ve got the whole concept of happiness wrong.

Happiness is a choice. It starts and ends with you not with something else but you.

I am bringing you some simple ways that will definitely make your life much happier and blissful:

1. Stop finding happiness

The thing about happiness is that the more you look out for it, the less likely you would find it. The main reason for our unhappiness is that we tend to postpone our happiness. We think that getting a certain job or driving a certain car would make us happy. If you are not where you aspire to reach professionally, be happy that at least you have a job when there are so many unemployed people out there.

Happiness is not found, it’s created.

Stop chasing happiness. Just a look around and I’m sure that you will give ten reasons to be happy and joyous in life.

2. Create a happy morning routine

A lot has been said and written about the importance of morning routines. What I’m saying is that create a happy routine for yourself and make sure you step into this routine as soon as you wake up.

If you like working out and exercising, try doing it in the morning. According to researchers at the University of Vermont, 20 minutes of exercising can have a positive effect on you for as long as 12 hours. You can try doing other things as well such as meditation, yoga, journaling, reading and see what works best for you.

3. Figure out what makes you happy and start doing it

The major reason for our unhappiness is that either we aren’t doing things that we like to do or we don’t have the time to do so. Whatever be the case, you have to become intentional about happiness to be at your happy self.

You don’t have to do something special to feel happy and joyful every day. Just start doing things you liked doing when you were young. It could be anything — sketching, dancing, writing poems, gardening, or something that gives you a kick. Every weekend, I try my hands on a new recipe. Even if it isn’t that great of a dish, cooking is no less than a therapy for me.

4. Express gratitude

We fail to notice how blissful our own life is when we start comparing it with others. Constantly comparing our life with others is much more like ignoring the ice cream in your own hand and longing for someone else’s.

These beautiful words by Denis Waitley beautifully sum up the relationship between gratitude and happiness. He said, “Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn, or consumed. It is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.” Never forget that gratitude can transform common days into Thanksgiving, routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.

5. Surround yourself with happy souls

The people you surround yourself with can have a life-altering effect on your life. Maybe that’s why your mommy always asked you to be in good company while you were young. Anyone from your friends to your colleagues to family members, each one of them can influence your life and happiness levels dramatically.

Make a conscious effort to surround yourself with positive, happy, and uplifting people because you are going to be a product of your environment. As they say that energies are contagious, so surround yourself with these three types of people:

1. The inspired
2. The excited
3. The grateful

6. Start appreciating the small things in life

We live in a culture that celebrates big accomplishments and huge victories due to which we often forget to appreciate the little things that make us feel alive. Happiness doesn’t always come from groundbreaking or life-changing events. Sometimes, it comes from little and tiny things.

Celebrate and reward yourself when you complete a long-pending task or give a kickass presentation. Take a moment to thank your mother or wife for the lovely food they make every day for you. Such little things every now and then can give a boost in happiness and makes life a little more beautiful.

Over to you

Henri J.M Nouwen said something that sums up the essence of happiness and joy in just one sentence. He said, “Joy doesn’t simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.”

Author Bio:

Vartika Kashyap is the Marketing Manager at ProofHub and has been one of the LinkedIn Top Voices in 2017. Her articles are inspired by office situations and work-related events. She likes to write about productivity, team building, work culture, leadership, entrepreneurship among others and contributing to a better workplace is what makes her click.