Are you looking to add joy to your day? I’m going to guess yes because you seem to have stumbled across this blog post where I try to act knowledgeable about the art of joy finding…
I’m not writing this as a joy guru… I’m writing this as someone who often struggles to find joy and I figure if these things work for me , they could work for some less cynical souls:
First things first; if you are new here, “how you doing” (Joey from Friends voice) If you are not new here you will know that I live with High Functioning Depression and Anxiety I have chatted about my anxiety symptoms before and how it steals my joy . This is why I have to physically/literally/actually remind myself “add joy to your day, you sexy beast” hahahaha nope I mostly refer to myself as Eleanor…as in “seriously Eleanor! You didn’t see that coming” and then “So sorry for being a meanie Eleanor” okay but that’s not why you came here… you want to add joy to your day, right…
6 ways to add joy to your day
1. Start your day with a smile
I know right! what BS is this, throw the article away, throw the whole blog away. I’m serious though, every morning I try to think of one thing I am extremely grateful for and it makes me smile. Like, I don’t open my eyes and suddenly smile “I woke up like this” but I will see my husband, my son, a message from a friend, and I will smile. It lightens the load somehow.
2. Have a bit of a routine
Every morning do something that makes you happy, it can be drinking a smoothie, having a cup of coffee, yoga, meditating, going jogging. If one of the first things you do in the morning is something your mind connects with joy, you are training yourself to be excited to wake up. You look forward to waking up because your day starts off with something you like to do. On the weekends I wake up before everyone else so I can read a book, on weekdays I just take some time to make myself a nice drink in a pretty mug and thank God for another day with my loved ones.
3. Switch off a little
I give myself some time every day to just mentally switch off (I am one of those people whose brains never shut up, I’m a browser with 9 tabs open) The time out does not have to be long – sometimes I do it in the office loo. I just take a few minutes take a deep breath, stretch a little and think about the things in my life that do not suck sumo wrestler behind.
4. Laugh
I love to laugh. Too much sometimes. But seriously I will find a reason to laugh every single day. Whether it’s a sitcom, stand up comedy, a meme…but usually my hilarious friends. Laughter is the one thing that has always been able to get me out of my funk.
5. Enjoy the little things
This one is important, we rush from thing to thing so quickly we often forget to just enjoy the littlest things. The smell of freshly brewed coffee, the feel of a loved one’s embrace, humming along to a song, making someone else smile with a compliment or a small act of kindness. The taste of your favourite treat, the sound of the wind in the trees. Appreciate the smell of the perfume you bought despite feeling a little guilty about the price, pout at yourself in your favourite lipstick, snuggle up in the duvet whose colours you simply love. We spend so much money on things but do we even really enjoy the things we spend money on? DEEP I KNOW
6. List the happy
Every day I ask my son what was bad about his day and what was good. The bad we discuss and see if there is a way forward, but the good, the good I jot down and put in a box, to look back on when days are dark and he can’t find any good in the day. For myself I jot it down in the margin of my diary, a reminder that there is a little joy in every day
– So this list isn’t fool proof, or I would not still be on meds. But it really helps me be the annoyingly nice Ella you have come to know. I appreciate the little things like you guys reading my blog, sharing my posts with friends and family and the ability to put my thoughts into words, I know not every one can – I follow politics, hehehe
