Did you know that happiness consistently ranks at or near the top of polls when people are asked about what they want in their lives?
Yet connecting to that feeling of contentment, to absolute joy can feel elusive. We know it’s there, we see others experiencing it, but we’re not…
So how do we access joy?
Here are 4 ways:
1. “Joy is here because you are here.” -Dr. Robert Holden
What this means is that we ACTUALLY carry joy. Whether we believe it or not, joy is our innate nature. And in truth, we desperately want to be in that state all the time.
You can think about joy as a vibration, a frequency we tune in and out of like a radio station. Joy is always there, we simply move the dial away from it.
2. Joy is not a destination
Joy isn’t some place you’re going to get to or arrive at. Joy isn’t a goal to achieve either.
Sometimes we believe we can experience joy with a new purchase, a vacation, promotion or treatment. And maybe we're happier for a few days, but invariably, it wears off and we slide back to where we were before.
But what if, instead, you chose to believe that joy was your true nature? That joy is always here, waiting for you to remember and return to it?
If you’re finding that idea difficult, imagine you’re watching a bunch of kids playing in the park directly in front of you. You hear their laughter and squeals of happiness. As adults, most of us have forgotten how to access this. We get busy, neurotic, we live in our heads and take life seriously.
How can you laugh like a child again?
3. Practice Gratitude
Gratitude is called the shortest shortcut to happiness.
Why?
Think about it.
How do you feel when you’re in a place of lack? When it feels like you don’t have everything you want, need, or desire?
You’re in a bad mood, right?
Instead, what if you focused on all the blessings you have in your life? A healthy body, family, a job, a comfortable home?
Offer thanks for everything you have in your life right now.
“Thank you for my beautiful home, my healthy family, my caring friends, my strong body, reliable car, fun job…”
It isn’t that happy people are grateful, it’s that grateful people are happy.
Acknowledge and appreciate the abundant blessings in your life and watch yourself tune back into joy.
4. Be the most joy filled person you can be
Why? Because the number one indicator of how happy you’ll be in the future, is how happy you are right now.
So how can you be happier right now, in this moment?
If you can release yesterday, avoid worrying about tomorrow, and simply be present right here in this moment, you will discover joy. It is nestled deep inside you because it lives in your heart, patiently waiting for you.
Breathe into that space in the center of your chest and re-connect.
It has never left.
It is always available.
What small actions can you take to help you experience that deep inner joy, right here, right now?
If you want to deepen into this state, podcast #74, entitled, TUNE INTO JOY is for you.
Try it here:
No matter what your life circumstances, joy is always here for you. And the more you cultivate it, the easier it will be for you to access.
Because joy lives within you, no one will ever be able to take it away from you. That is the power of inner work.
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