Choosing Joy

Journey to Joy

This set of daily tasks will help you re-wire your brain to experience joy in life.  In the big moments and also the small, frequent moments that are often overlooked.

Begin by taking the survey at https://www.happycounts.org/take-the-happiness-survey.html . This will give you the baseline of your inner joy and compare you to the average of other folks taking the survey.  Complete this survey again in a few weeks to note your progress.

Look over the list of possible joy activities.  Add your personal enjoyments.

These tasks are to be done daily to reinforce your new habits.

1.    Commit to turning off the news for 21 days. 

2.    Pick one day a week where you refrain or reduce time on social media.

3.    Start your day with one of the affirmations listed or create your own.

4.    Mark your level of joy upon waking up and at least 3 things you are grateful for.

5.    Talk to yourself in the mirror.  Say nice things and your affirmation.

6.    Throughout the day, revisit your affirmation.

7.    Mediate or give self-reiki for at least five minutes each day. 

8.    Record thoughts in your daily journal.

9.    Choose at least one thing to do from your joy list and do it unapologetically.

10. Before going to bed, record your level of joy and express gratitude.

These tasks are to be done throughout each week.

Week 1:

Begin to observe how often and how frequent people who you interact with or talk to complain. Allow their complaints to drop you deeper into your state of joy and your affirmation. As you observe people complaining this week, (even yourself) repeat your affirmation in your head anytime you hear a complaint.

Week 2:

Begin to pay attention and observe your own complaining habits. Every time you hear yourself complaining or have a self-defeating thought, I want you to replace that thought with a new one and say, “I choose to feel joy instead of this”.

Week 3:

Make this week less about you and more about others. Listen more, share something you have learned, buy someone a coffee, pay a compliment to everyone you talk to. It’s not about you, it’s about them. Spread your joy to those around you.

Week 4:

Spend this week catching yourself thinking about joy, thinking about positive things, and catching yourself when you’re in a state of gratitude. When you catch yourself doing this, say immediately, “Great catch!”

Daily Affirmations

Here are sample affirmations you can choose from for your joy journey. You may select 1 and use it for the entire course. You might select a few and interchange them, or you might like to use 1 for each day.

·       I deserve to live a joyful life.

·       I create space in my life for joyful things.

·       I find joy in every situation.

·       I choose to see joy instead of this.

·       I will bring joy to people around me today.

·       I am happy, joyful, and fulfilled.

·       Today I prioritize joy and seek it out.

·       I see joy all around me today.

·       Today my life is overflowing with joy.

·       Joy is my state of mind today.

·       Today I see the joy in simple pleasures.

·       Feeling Joy is my top priority today.

·       Today I will seek joy in every situation I encounter.

·       Today I will smile every time I feel joy.

·       I embrace joy and gently release anything that is not joy.

·       I will see joy in other human beings today.

·       My life is blessed with joy.

·       I notice the joy that surrounds me.

·       My life is wildly joyful.

·       I willingly accept things that bring me joy.

·       It’s fun to feel joy.

·       When I embrace joy everything else falls into place.

·       I attract joy and joyful situations to me.

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Activities That Bring Me Joy

Ideas of things that you can incorporate into your day that will support your joy practice. Add or subtract things that meet your highest self.

·       Listen to your favorite music

·       Wake up your artistic side: paint, color, draw, make jewelry, etc

·       Write: journal, create a poem or short story

·       Take a walk

·       Engage in exercise you love to do

·       Put a song on and dance

·       Take pictures of beautiful things that make you smile

·       Spend more time with your animals

·       Meditate

·       Watch inspirational videos or listen to inspirational podcasts

·       Read 10 pages in a book you wanted to read

·       Drink the daily recommended amount of water for your body

·       Go to a concert

·       Attend a play

·       Volunteer your time

·       Compliment strangers all day long

·       Buy someone a coffee

·       Burn your favorite candle, sage, incense

·       Call a friend you miss

·       Write someone a letter and mail it

·       Start a new hobby

·       Grow plants or vegetables

·       Self-care: bath, massage, acupuncture, face mask, etc

·       Complete a task you have been wanting to do and procrastinate on

·       Organize a closet, a drawer, get rid of junk in your house

·       Play a board game

·       Watch something funny

·       Cook yourself a fun and healthy meal

·       Plan a trip but don’t take one

·       Smile

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Your Joy Practice

What have you done in the past that brings you absolute joy?

How many times a year, month, week do you do this?

What do you do every day that brings you joy?  If you answered nothing, now is the time to break that habit and commit to doing at least one thing that brings you joy each day.  You are important.

Sample Journal

Day #________  Today’s Date: ___________

Morning Gratitude:

Today’s Affirmation:

Joy Meter: 1—2—3—4—5—6—7—8—9—10

Thoughts on the Joy Video:

Today, the thing I selected from my joy list to do that brought me joy today was:

Evening Gratitude

Week 1 Observation comments:

Joy Meter: 1—2—3—4—5—6—7—8—9—10