One Simple Way to Add More Joy Into Your Life

Do you want more joy in your life? Sure you do, but you’re always wishing and hoping for it. You think it comes with a new job, more money, or falling in love.

What if I told you, every single day you have moments of joy but you just don’t notice?

You absolutely do and I hope after you read this article, you will start to notice tiny moments of pure joy every single day.

Why should you? Because it makes you feel good. Isn’t the goal of what you want in life to feel good?

Why do you want a different job? More money? Lose weight? Be in love?

The bottomline is you want the good feelings from it.

You already have moments in your day that bring joy and the good feelings that come with it.

The bonus is that the more you find joy, the more your mind looks for it. Once you train your mind where to seek pleasure it will want more of it.

The more the mind becomes familiar with joy, the more it perceives joy, and leans towards it.

Notice Joy

The first way to get the mind familiar with joy is to notice it. So we have to train our mind to see brief moments of joy. Usually they pass without us noticing them because we’re thinking about something else or we’re using our phones.

You have to train your mind to notice the joy. You have to be aware of it and look for it. You can’t expect joy to slap you on the face and have it say “Notice me!”

The training is simple. It is simple to notice joy. Whenever there is any hint of joy arising, simply notice that there is joy. That’s it. 

There is joy to be found in many moments of our lives thought they maybe be small and quick. For example, when we step into a hot shower after a long day, joy arises immediately but we often don’t notice it. That initial feeling of joy goes away in seconds.

But think about how you feel when the water hits you after a long day at work? It feels soothing and calming.

The practice is to simply notice when joy is there. Let all the feelings soak into your mind and body.

The more you notice these small moments of joy the more they appear to be everywhere because they always have been there. You just never noticed them before.

Noticing joy is like noticing red cards on the road. When you’re driving red cars pass you all the time and you don’t notice them at all. But if you’re looking for red cards, you’ll find many red cars on the road. They’re everywhere. 

That’s tip number one. Whenever there is any experience in joy, just notice it. That is all. 

Find Joy in Daily Activities

Another source of joy that is related to that is acknowledging pleasant experiences in our normal every day activities. The practice is simple. When you do something that involves a pleasant experience, take a moment to give full attention to the joy that experience brings. That’s it. 

All you need is just a few seconds, but again it’s worth it because experiencing joy brings great feelings.

For example, at lunch or dinner, bring full attention to that first bite. The first bite is when you are the most hungry so it is the most delicious bite.

How often do you just start eating a not enjoying that first bite cause you’re too busy talking, thinking, or you’re on our phones? Way too often. 

That first bite has a small but very satisfying moment of joy there. Savor it. Focus on the flavors you taste. Don’t miss it. 

There are many opportunities for joy during the day. Just notice them and take a moment to attend fully to the joy. That means focus and be present and feel the joy.

Here are some more ways:

• When seeing a loved one, especially a child, take one moment to appreciate he or she is there, and attend fully to that joy. 
• When holding hands with a loved one, take one moment to attend fully to the joy of that contact. 
• When taking a shower, enjoy that first moment when the warm water touches your skin. 
• If you see the sunset, take a moment to pause and marvel at the colors of the sun and in the sky.
• When you take the first sip of your favorite drink, full enjoy how it tastes.
• When you get a moment of quiet time to yourself, take a deep breath and feel the joy of peacefulness for even just a moment.
• When going outside for the first time and the weather is nice, take a moment to enjoy the nice weather whether it’s the sun shining on your face, or the crisp cool air filling your lungs.

There are so many more opportunities to find joy in your daily activities. What brings you joy is completely up to you.

In general, when seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting or touching something pleasant bring full attention to the joy for at least one moment and when interacting with a loved now, bring full attention to the joy of being with that person for at least one moment. 

This simple practice has many benefits. First is that relationships improves. For many of us, we do not fully value people we love unit we are separated from them. By taking a moment to pay full attention to the joy of a loved one’s presence, you value them a little more, you enjoy them a little more, you are happier and the relationship becomes stronger. 

The next benefit is an increase in happiness. Many of us have joyful moments that we totally miss because we’re not paying attention to them. With this practice, we don’t just notice them. We immerse in the feeling the joy brings by giving them at least one moment of full attention. It doesn’t take very long to do and no one else will know this is all happening in your mind and so quickly. 

Joy increases but more important it leads to gratefulness. Very soon as you being to fully enjoy all these little pleasures in life you take them less and less for granted. You become more and more grateful. 

You can start now to appreciate the joy you already experience in life. When you experience joy, take a brief moment to pay full attention to it and experiences all the great feeling it brings.