Embracing Joy in the New Year

“What you love is a sign from your higher self of what you are to do.”

                   -          Sanaya Roman (Living with Joy)

Many of us start off the new year full of ideas on how to be more productive, organized, punctual, and successful in our lives.  Behind these resolutions are our best intentions, however, we often overlook the bigger picture.  We can be all of those things listed, but they do not matter if we do not experience enough joy in our lives.  Discovering what brings us joy and taking steps to experience that joy is the foundation for fulfillment.  Essentially, joy is what makes life worth living. 

Here are some ideas to help you embrace joy in the new year:

Be present- When we practice being more in the here and now we are better able to catch ourselves experiencing joy.  Joy can be as fleeting as a single moment and we don’t want to miss it. If we miss it, we miss crucial information about what exactly creates that feeling within us.

Tame Your Expectations-  Many of us strive to be happy all the time and we think we are flawed in some way when we are not.  Joy is not a permanent state.  It is a feeling like any other and feelings come and go.  If joy were a permanent state, it wouldn’t cause us to feel so breathtakingly free and alive when it happens.  Its rarity is what sets the moment apart from all others. 

Redefine success- It is common for many of us to focus on what is tangible and to define success by what we ‘get’ monetarily and materially from an activity or experience.  We can shift our thinking and reach for the goal of achieving joy.  Consider the success of indoor activity centers like Chuckee Cheese and Dave & Busters. One can quickly and easily spend $50 in tokens/chips in order to win a prize that would cost $10 if purchased directly from the store.  If we look at the bigger picture, it is truly the joy of the experience that will outlive the entertainment value of the actual prize.

As adults, we can become bogged down in all that needs to get done.  Taking some time out for joy requires effort and commitment, but if we incorporate the above ideas into our daily routine, we will see that opportunities are all around us.

May we all be open to joy in our lives, believe we deserve it, and take steps to embrace it.