Sometimes it feels like the older we get, the less joy we experience. I’m not saying we aren’t happy, but childish joy? It seems so unreachable a lot of the time. We have so much to-do’s, organize everything, have a dozen routines. And with it, we lose our free sense of joy.
I had the exact same thing. I am easy to drown myself into schedules & lists. And while I still do so, I’m not letting it stay in my way of joy anymore. I have implemented a few basics so that I am sure I experience joy to the fullest.
I wish for you to experience so much joy in your day to day life! Did you know joy actually improves your immune system? So, it’s not only healthy for your mind, it’s also healthy for your body!
That’s precisely why I wrote this post with 6 ways to get more joy in your daily life!
Here’s a little bit about how I suggest you use this post. Six tips can be super overwhelming to try. And I suggest you do exactly not that. Try one. Maybe two. And see if it works. Try it out for about two weeks, then reflect if it brought you something. Keep it or discard it and then add or try something else!
Let’s get into it.
1. Laugh more
The simplest solution; laugh more. Laughing is super healthy and of course- super fun! It’s also highly associated with joy, so why not start here?
Make sure you have enough in your life which makes you laugh. Make sure you have enough people in your life who make you laugh! Having friends and a partner who you can fool around with, laugh with, and not constantly take everything serious with is so valuable! Side note; of course, it’s also important you can’t only laugh with them, and also discuss deeper subjects.
In addition: make it a priority. There should be time to laugh every single day. This shouldn’t be optional. No matter how utterly crap or busy your day has been, there should be time to laugh.
2. Gratitude
One of the biggest benefits of gratitude is that it puts you in a good mood. It’s more like the foundation of happiness you need to experience and value the beautiful things around you. I wrote a whole blog about the immediate benefits of gratitude & how to start to help you on your way.
For me, gratitude helps so much to see everything good in my life. The big, the small, and the hidden. You can be grateful for all sorts of things (more accurately, for everything).
The big things like your health, your family, and the fact you have a house to live in. The small things like your cup of coffee in the morning, the sun unexpectedly reaching you through a window and your favorite song coming on the radio. And the hidden things, like a challenge which in the end made you grow, or rain- which provides all the life around us.
Gratitude is the base on which we should build our life. And it is the base on which we will experience the most joy.
3. Spend time in nature
Let’s get to my all-time favorite way of experiencing SO MUCH joy: nature!
Nature is our healer. It has more wisdom and calmness and love than we will ever experience in our human life. Nature should be at the base of your life. We are part of her and she is part of us.
But right now, I’m not going to write a massive plea about nature as a whole, I’m strictly focusing on nature as the bringer of joy.
I don’t know about you, but when I unexpectedly see a field filled with a thousand flowers, I smile. No choice. I have to. And I know I’m not the only one, based on all the flower field pics on Instagram!
Something about flowers just makes us smile. Make us happy. The colors, the liveliness, the harmonious living together.. I don’t know what it is, but I know that it is!
And even though flowers are probably the most popular, it doesn’t end with them. Trees, plants, mosses.. They are all so beautiful. If you take a walk through the woods, you’ll come back happier than you left. If you really take the time to look closely at a pine, a leaf, or the trunk of the tree, you’ll find so much beauty in it.
Let’s get out in nature! Or bring it in your home, in the form of (dried) flowers or houseplants. And then, of course, take the time to really look at it.
4. Dance
What better way to your soul than through movement? And what better way to joy than through dancing?
Humans have danced for 1.5 million (!!) years. For attracting mates (and not just in the club, but also in the prehistory), religious reasons, entertainment, but mostly for FUN. Because dancing sparks something in us that is undeniable. It is true energy, flowing through both your body, mind, and soul.
So, learn a whole choreography? Or all the TikTok dances? Not necessarily (although I’m not stopping you from TikTok!). Just dance! The same way you did when you were a child and your favorite song came on. Listen to the music, close your eyes, and move. Feel your body. Feel your energy. Laugh! It will change your whole day, I promise.
5. Create time for small moments that bring happiness
When do you experience most joy? While sipping on your morning coffee? While taking one little moment for yourself in the sun? While going for a walk? Maybe it’s while listening to music, watching the sunrise, or seeing how the clouds go by. Or something entirely different.
Priorities these things! I’m not kidding. This is what you know will make you happy and yet you are still putting work, socials, and chores on your to-do list, and not these moments. You are still thinking those projects are more important than your moments of joy.
STOP. Stop now. This is your permission to stop prioritizing expectations over joy. Because this is so much easier said than done, you need a conscious decision on how to do this.
First; decide what moments you want in your life. Then put them on your to-do list. And then schedule them. Lastly; don’t skip! They are really just as important as cleaning your kitchen. If not more! Treat them accordingly.
6. Fix small irritations
If we talk about things that bring joy, we must also talk about things that take away joy. And about how a lot of times, the things that take away our easy-breezy going of life, are actually small and almost unimportant things.
And about how they can be fixed.
Mindset plays a big part in this, too. Not letting small issues getting to you. But if it’s easily fixed (in like 5 minutes) then it’s just as easy to just fix it! (but still not ignoring the mindset work)
As an example; I had a dirty microwave. It smelled a bit. It had a not-as-white-as-before look. It wasn’t gross. It was still hygienic enough to use. But every time I opened it, I felt my energy drain. Why is it still dirty? How is my microwave not perfectly white? Whyyyy?
Until one day, I had enough. And I cleaned it. In like, 5 minutes. This resulted in me opening the microwave in the future and thinking ‘Gosh, I’m so happy it’s clean. And I’m proud of myself for doing this small adult chore.’ And that resulted in me having more joy!
If you, too, have some small and insignificant issues you encounter day to day (like a dirty microwave but also a broken shelf, a squeaky door or stains on your carpet) fix it! It will cost like a few minutes but will bring countless moments of joy to your life.
These are the 6 ways to get easy access to more joy in your life. I hope you liked reading it and can take some tips with you. As with any list of things to get into your day to day life, I suggest not implementing everything at once.
Instead, chose one that sparks something in you and try it out. Maybe a few days, maybe a few weeks. See if it fits your lifestyle and your personality. Then decide whether you’d like to continue with it. Lastly, come back to this post (save on Pinterest for easy access!) and try the next one.
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