With so much craziness happening in today’s world, we all need to discover the joy of life.
The never-ending flow of negative news in our lives can leave many feeling depressed, overwhelmed, and fearful.
The antidote to these emotions is discovering the joy of life—that thing that brings you the greatest happiness and makes life worth living.
The joy of life for you may be different from what brings me joy.
That’s why it’s important you make it a point to search out what brings you joy in life. Then keep that joy central to all you do.
Here are 7 secrets to finding the joy of life.
Joy is often found in familiar places.
Oftentimes, we have a desire to go seek joy in faraway places where we’ve never been.
While I’m always one for adventure, my greatest joy in life comes from spending time with my family.
My husband and children mean everything to me. They comfort me when I’m down, encourage me when I need a pep talk, and support me in all my crazy ideas.
When I think of finding joy in life, they are definitely a vital source of mine.
If you are struggling to find joy, take a look at your familiar places. What can you see that brings you joy?
The joy of life is often in the little things.
In a world of grand gestures, it’s in the small, seemingly insignificant moments where life’s joy can be found.
Holding hands with my husband, stroking the hair of a sick child, watching a sunset, sipping my favorite wine—these are seemingly insignificant moments. But the joy of life flows through these moments and they stay with me forever.
So much sorrow can be forgotten when we keep our focus on the joy that comes from the little things.
Find those little moments of joy in your own life.
Connection magnifies the joy in life.
I love people. And there’s something about connecting with another human being that not only brings joy but intensifies it.
When I’m in an airport and sit and talk with a stranger, I am amazed to learn who they are and where they have been.
It brings me joy just to sit and listen to them.
I also love connecting with people in my community. I truly believe that we all need a community of people who strengthen, lift, and support one another. Community connections are such a valuable source of joy for me.
There are so many good people in the world. And when you take the time to connect with others, the joy they feel will be passed on to you.
If you are struggling to find joy in your life, try connecting with someone. See if it makes a difference.
Joy is not always found in material things.
While I do experience joy in a new outfit or a gourmet dinner (that I don’t have to cook), most often I find that joy comes in experiences.
I’ve had so many incredible experiences—from medical missions to third-world countries with my husband, to visiting war-torn countries with the Jewish Federation.
These experiences have changed me and helped me recognize that joy in life is so much more than just commodities.
Additionally, helping out in my community, speaking on a podcast, or even playing with my kids at a park when they were young have helped me appreciate and treasure the joy of life that comes from these experiences.
Sometimes the joy of life isn’t what you think.
This has definitely been true for me.
When I was young, I wanted to be a doctor just like my parents. I knew that was going to be my joy in life.
But when I got to college, I couldn’t pass Organic Chemistry, even after taking it twice. This pretty much eliminated me from ever becoming a doctor.
What I thought was going to fill my life with joy all of a sudden was no longer an option.
It took many long years of trying different things to finally find that one career that brings me joy.
I didn’t become a speaker until I was well into my forties, but it has become the joy of life for me. It is a way I can share my story and make a greater difference in the world.
Sometimes finding life’s joy means thinking outside of the box.
What comes to mind for you when you think outside of the box?
Finding the joy of life requires time.
Time is such a commodity in today’s world. We could all use more of it. But we’re still confined to the same 24 hours a day.
Because of this, we often move from place to place and from project to project without really stopping to smell the roses.
But finding the joy of life requires us to slow down and take some time to really think about what it is that brings us our greatest joy.
When we are still, we have the time to ask ourselves important questions and contemplate the answers to those questions.
What is it that makes your heart happy and puts a smile on your face?
How can you make time to do more of what you love?
Who are the people you experience the most joy with?
When we know the source of our joy, we can tap into that source when life’s challenges try to get the best of us.
Why not take some time for yourself and ask yourself the above questions? You may be surprised and delighted with the answer.
Finding life’s joy is the key to greater resilience.
We all need greater resilience as we move through challenging times.
With so much change happening so quickly, we need to ground ourselves in life’s joy.
When we have the ability to see the joy, even in the struggle, we’ll have a better outlook and live in a more positive frame of mind.
But the greatest outcome of making the joy of life our anchor is that our joy will spread to others, helping them to be resilient, too.
The world around us is amazing. There is so much joy to see and so much good to do.
My hope for you is that you find your joy and then help others to find the joy of life, too.
Because in today’s world, joy really is the key to greater resilience.
