A Moment of Joy

‘Look for the small things in life to bring joy’ – Confucius

Joy! Just the word makes me feel happy! But did you know that experiencing moments of joy helps you think more clearly and helps you navigate through the difficult times? It’s actually a scientific fact! When you experience a moment of joy, your brain releases a tiny amount of dopamine which makes you feel good. It also supports your brain to think clearly, take in new information and hold on to what you already know.

We all have times in life where things are tough and it’s not easy to feel happy. It’s at these times that we feel sadness, anxiety, or maybe depression. We might feel like nothing is ever going to go right again. We can get stuck in a destructive cycle of negative thinking. Or maybe it’s someone close to you who is going through a bad time and you feel a sense of guilt if you experience happiness so you actively try to avoid it. But we need to accept that remaining stuck in these bad times isn’t healthy. Moments of joy provide balance and help us to move forward in a positive way. They help us to feel centered and better able to support others.

No matter what is happening around you, a moment of joy is always within reach. Joy can be found in the smallest of things: the sound of a child laughing, bird song, a beautiful display of flowers, a piece of music, sunshine after rain. Moments of joy are all around us, we just have to notice them and allow ourselves to feel that sense of peace and contentment inside.

It’s a simple fact that we aren’t on this Earth for very long in the grand scheme of things and so enjoying life, living every moment, being happy is important. Whilst we need to acknowledge that being happy continually isn’t realistic, what we can do is seek out, and allow ourselves to feel, joy. The pleasure that you get from doing activities or experiencing these moments keeps you going and helps you to move forward whatever the situation you are facing.

So, our tiny tweak this week is to think about the things you like to do that bring you joy. It could be anything from hearing your favourite song or cuddling your pet to spending time with your closest friends or visiting a place you love. It doesn’t matter what it is as long as it makes you happy and gives you an inner sense of contentment. If you are struggling to come up with something, think about the type of person you are and the things which make you feel calm and relaxed or excited and energised. They are the things that make you happy and lead to those moments of joy. For some it will be doing something quietly alone, a jigsaw puzzle, watching the birds in the garden or reading for example, whilst others prefer to be in the company of lots of people and feed off their energy. Once you are aware of the moments that bring you joy, allow yourself to experience them and acknowledge the feelings they give you inside. If you write a gratitude journal, you might want to list these moments of joy every day.

Finding that moment of joy isn’t just a one-off experience either. Next time you are waiting in a queue or sitting at the traffic lights or maybe waiting for a doctors appointment, you can summon up that moment you thought about previously and benefit from it all over again. Allow the experience to enter your head, your heart and your entire being. Let joy in!

Until next time xx

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