How To Cultivate Joy In Your Every Day

Question: Do you devote as much focus and energy to experiencing joy in your life as you do with other priorities and obligations?

In other words, do you remember to put joy on your “To-Do” list?

It’s something I’ve learned that is all too often the missing piece when it comes to true health.

In the quest to be “productive” humans, we can find ourselves feeling like life is a grind, living for the weekend or the next vacation. Putting our happiness on hold is a telltale sign that you may be surviving vs. thriving.

There are countless studies that show that our level of joy and the positive emotions that come with it contributes to our health on all levels: physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Learning to cultivate joy in your everyday is a powerful way to impact your entire physiology and help you live a healthier and longer life.

So while I love helping my clients with meal planning, I also invite them to create a Nourishment Menu where we consciously plan to schedule more joy into their everyday life and make it a priority.

The first step is to think about how you want to feel rather than what you want or have to do.

Begin by making a list of small things that are easy enough to add into your regular schedule that you know would really make you feel happy. It doesn’t have to be anything complicated; the magic comes from doing things consistently and with intention.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

1. Take a snuggle break with your pet.
2. Read a book for fun for 15 minutes.
3. Savor your morning cup of coffee.
4. Go outside and take three deep breaths of fresh air.
5. Send a text to someone you love.
6. Watch a movie that always make you smile or laugh.
7. Do a short guided meditation.
8. Take a few minutes to do some gentle yoga or stretching.
9. Drink tea in bed.
10. Write in your journal.
11. Visualize your future.
12. Do positive affirmations.
13. Perform a random act of kindness.
14. Listen to your favorite music.
15. Light a candle.
16. Take a steamy bath with candles and essential oils.
17. Diffuse essential oils.
18. Give yourself a home facial or body scrub.
19. Plan a facetime chat with a good friend or loved one.
20. Pause and reflect on three things you are grateful for in your day.

I understand that choosing to thrive and not simply survive can feel super challenging. Please remember that joy is a state of being that is your birth right and contrary to popular culture, finding it does not require an immense amount of effort. Why not invite yourself to adopt two or three new, pleasure inducing habits over the next several weeks and watch your joy in life grow.