7 Simple Ways to Find Joy in Everyday Life ...

1. Go to Sleep with a Positive Thought

Do you ever notice that how we go to sleep at night is also how we wake up? And how we awaken can affect our entire day? One of the easiest ways to find joy in your life is to say it even before you might believe in it. Tell yourself you are healthy, happy, fulfilled, have a wonderful job, etc. Make it in the present tense even if these are the things you are currently working towards. Fall asleep thinking of one positive thing in your life right now, no matter how small. Concentrate on it, bathe in it until your subconscious mind is pruney and lulls you to sleep. It will take over once your waking mind has put up the ‘Closed’ sign for the day, and fill your mind with more of the positive vibes. When you awaken, pick up the positive conversation with yourself from the night before. Think good thoughts in the present tense, as if it’s already happening. Tell yourself you love the great new job you have found (even if you’re still looking for it). Support yourself in the way you are exercising everyday (even if you are just starting to get on that bandwagon). You are not tricking yourself as much as you are reinforcing the positive goals you want in your life. Say it, believe it, become it!

2. Believe That the Best Will Happen

Instead of being sure the blind date tonight is going to be a disaster, as most of your life’s blind dates have been, tell yourself that you are going to have fun, find many things in common, and have tremendous conversation. It may take a bit of time, but once you start believing the best will happen, the negative thoughts have nowhere to go but away…far, far away.

3. Money is a Tool, Not a Goal

Why do you want to win the lottery, get the promotion, or sell your car for more than it’s worth? Are your reasons because you want to take care of yourself and your family, you want to have more time away from work to spend with your friends or a new passion, or that you want to be able to relax more? Then those are the goals, not the acquiring of the green. Money is not the ultimate destination for most people; what you do with it is. Spend your time visualizing a happy family, a day out with your friends, the ability to sleep through the night free of worry. When you put yourself in that positive space, positive things will happen! And who knows, what you thought was important in the beginning may turn into something else.

4. Turn off the Tube

There are few ways to see time almost literally fly out the window as when you are spending the day in, with your comfy clothes on, and a remote by your side. While it may seem like luxury to have that little clicker all to yourself, you are robbing yourself of the time spent doing things you truly desire. Isn’t the local cooking store having a Saturday afternoon cooking class you promised yourself you would attend someday? How about the theatre company’s improv class that terrifies you and seduces you all at the same time? What about the book everyone else has read, and is still sitting on your shelf with nary a page turned? There will be withdrawal, but you can do it! Start with turning off the TV for one night, and doing something, inside or out, that you’ve always wanted to do. In the end, instead of watching actors portraying other people’s lives, you might find a new one to live yourself!

5. Don’t Jump to Conclusions

You think you know what someone is thinking just by a raised eyebrow, or what they mean when they say nothing at all. Unlike the song, it’s not always a positive thing. We all have the gossip mongers among our friends, the ones who love a crisis more than we love our morning coffee. But let’s not assume we know what is going to come out of someone else’s mouth. It only makes us co-stars to the drama when we do. When we start to assume the best in people, that only improves the décor of our surroundings too.

6. Put It to Rest

There is hardly a way to overstate the importance of a good night’s rest. Not only does it affect the workings of your body and mind, it affects your mood and outlook too. The joy in life is so much easier to see without the bags under your eyes to cloud your vision! Regardless of the challenges you faced today, the night belongs to you.

7. Everyday Fun

Fun and relaxation do not have to be reserved for the weekend and holidays. Why can’t you rent the movie you were waiting to see this weekend on Tuesday instead? It would be much easier to get a table at your favorite restaurant on a Wednesday night than on a Saturday. You may get to bed a bit earlier on a weeknight than you would on a weekend, but then again, there are benefits to that too!

Finding joy in life in the simplest of ways is one of the greatest pleasures. It guarantees you that regardless of where you are, or what’s in your bank account, you have the possibility of laughter at your fingertips. What is one of your favorite ways to find everyday joy in life?