Finding Joy

Yukon river, Canada by Keith Williams via Flickr

One of my biggest resolutions for the new year is to find joy.  Pure, undeniable joy.  I struggle with getting caught up in the ins and outs of day-to-day life and tend to forget about the big picture.  I let myself get bogged down and upset by things that really don’t matter in the grand scheme of things.  I truly believe joy is something that you feel deep in your soul.  Something that is unshaken by anything.  Sure, you feel sad about things that are sad, but if you really are experiencing true joy then you won’t let it ruin your entire day, week, month, etc.  A lot of this resolution is a product of reading ‘Eat, Pray, Love.’  When I finished it, I became completely determined to find the inner peace that Elizabeth Gilbert found after her year of adventures around the world.  But, I want to find that peace right here at home.

Every day, I take a few minutes to focus on the things that make me happy and I try to hold on to those things throughout the day.  When works gets bad, I press through.  When 5:00 p.m. hits, I leave all the baggage at work, knowing I have plenty of things to look forward to when I get home, i.e. going to the gym, eating dinner (possibly dessert!), talking with friends, spending time with my boyfriend, etc.

Another good point that was made to me by a dear friend is that it takes more energy to be miserable than it does to be happy.  I completely agree.

Do you have a total sense of joy?  How did you get to that point?  Or are you like me, and you’re on your way?!

xoxo,

Tiffany