We often get so caught up with the noise and chaos of life that we start living our lives on autopilot, going through the motions without truly engaging with our experiences. We rush from one obligation to another, barely even giving ourselves the chance to breathe, to feel, or to connect with what we are doing and who we are with.
Then one day, we wake up feeling so empty, disconnected from who we are and so unhappy. It’s important to remember that often, Joy is something that we have to consciously cultivate and choose. You have to incorporate habits that’ll bring joy into your life and help you live your life to the fullest.
I lost touch with this fact too. For years, I was so caught up in reaching my goals and chasing that “perfect” life that I started believing that joy and happiness are something that I can only feel after I’ve achieved all my ambitions and when everything in my life is finally in place.
It was a particularly low moment in my life, a moment where I found myself so drained, exhausted, and miserable that I realized that we can’t just keep waiting for that “someday” to arrive before we can finally allow ourselves to be happy and to feel joy. We can begin to find fulfillment and feel joy in the now instead of constantly waiting for that “someday”.
To reconnect with joy and embrace happiness in the present moment, I started by incorporating these habits into my daily life. I hope that sharing these habits with you will help inspire you to create your own path to joy.
Please always remember that regardless of where you are in life right now, you have the ability to reshape your perspective and find lasting happiness and peace.
Habits That’ll Bring Joy Into Your Life
1. Set Achievable Goals
It’s easy to overlook the power of setting achievable goals and expectations. When I hit rock bottom, I wanted to dig myself out of it as fast as I could. I wanted to turn my life around as quickly as possible.
I thought that the best way to do it was to set all these unrealistic goals and grand expectations. I believed that doing this would somehow push me to work harder and to achieve more in less time. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
By setting all these unrealistic expectations, I was not only adding so much unnecessary stress and anxiety into my life but I was also making it impossible to enjoy any progress I did make. Every small step forward was overshadowed by the immense pressure of all my unmet goals.
It made everything so overwhelming to the point that it paralyzed me and instead of actually taking the steps needed to improve my life, I found myself stuck.
This made me realize that not only was I sabotaging myself but I was also making myself so miserable and unhappy. I’ve learned that there is absolutely nothing wrong with setting achievable goals and expectations. Doing this doesn’t mean that we are just settling for mediocrity or that we are not aiming high.
It simply means that we are being realistic and kind to ourselves by acknowledging our current limits and working within them. Setting achievable goals allows us to maintain our mental and emotional health, and it provides a solid foundation for building confidence and capabilities over time.
Doing this not only makes things less overwhelming and stressful but also gives us the chance to find joy and fulfillment in the smaller, everyday achievements that often go unnoticed.
Start by doing these:
Break Big Goals into Smaller Tasks: If you have larger aspirations, break them down into smaller, more manageable tasks. This helps prevent feeling overwhelmed and allows you to gradually progress toward your larger goal.
Establish Realistic Timelines: Give yourself a realistic timeline to achieve your goals. This helps manage expectations and reduces the pressure to perform quickly, which can easily lead to burnout or frustration.
Reflect and Adjust: Regularly reflect on your progress and the effectiveness of your approach. Be open to adjusting your goals as needed. If you find something isn’t working, tweak your strategy or set new goals that are more aligned with your current situation.
2. Learn To Say No
How many times have you said yes to things regardless of how busy and exhausted you already were, just because you didn’t want to disappoint other people? I can’t even begin to tell you the number of times I’ve done this.
I always had a difficult time saying no to other people, especially to the people that I love. Growing up, I was made to believe that my worth and value were tied to two things. One would be my achievements and two would be based on how useful I was to other people.
So, I took this habit with me as I grew older and it didn’t really matter how much I had on my plate or how stressed I was, I would still say yes to everything asked of me. This constant need to be useful and to prove my worth through my actions led to burnout and a profound sense of never being enough, no matter how much I did.
It took a serious toll on my mental and physical health. I was constantly exhausted, and I rarely had time to pursue the things that genuinely made me happy. Honestly, not only was it so overwhelming but it was also making me so unhappy and miserable.
If you’re guilty of doing this too, please know that your worth and value are never tied to how much you can do for others or how many achievements you can list. Your value as a person is inherent, not transactional. It’s important to remember that saying no does not make you a bad or selfish person.
We have to keep reminding ourselves that saying no or setting healthy boundaries does not mean shutting other people out entirely. It’s not about being unkind or selfish. It simply means that just like everybody else, we also have to take care of our own needs.
It’s about finding a balance where we can support others without compromising our own well-being.
This balance allows us to be more present and genuinely helpful when we do choose to engage, rather than stretching ourselves too thin.
Start by doing these:
Identify Your Priorities: Clearly define what is most important to you, whether it’s career, family, health, or hobbies. Understanding your priorities helps you make decisions about what to say yes to and what to decline.
Start Small: Practice saying no in low-stakes situations to build your confidence. You can start small, like declining an invitation when you’re already tired, and gradually work up to bigger things.
Schedule ‘Me Time’: Block out time in your schedule for activities that recharge you. Treat this time as non-negotiable, the same way you would treat an important work meeting or a doctor’s appointment.
3. Complain Less
Learning to complain less is one of the habits that’ll bring joy into your life. There’s no denying that sometimes complaining can be a great thing. It can be a great avenue where we can express our feelings and frustrations, which is essential for emotional health.
However, when complaining becomes habitual, it can negatively impact our mood and the mood of those around us.
I used to have this habit of being a complainer and when I hit my rock bottom, this only seemed to magnify it. I would complain about every minor thing. I allowed myself to be consumed by the negativity and every single time someone would call me out on this habit, I would justify it to myself that I was struggling and that gave me the right to vent.
But over time, I realized that doing this wasn’t healthy or helpful. It wasn’t doing anything to help solve all my problems. It was actually just making it so much more difficult for me to see any positive solutions or outcomes.
The more I complained, the more I trapped myself in a cycle of negativity, which in turn made everything seem worse than it actually was.
It made it impossible for me to invite joy and peace into my life because I was so consumed by what was going wrong. If you’re guilty of this habit too, know that it’s perfectly okay to complain occasionally, after all, venting can be a healthy way to release emotions.
However, it’s important to recognize when it stops being a temporary venting and starts becoming a persistent habit that clouds your overall perception of life.
Start by doing these:
Set a ‘Complaint Free’ Time: Challenge yourself to go a certain period each day without complaining. Start with an hour and gradually increase the time as you get more comfortable with the practice.
Shift Your Focus: Actively redirect your focus to positive aspects of your life or situation. When you catch yourself complaining, try to think of two to three positive things related to the topic or just your life in general.
Related Posts:
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- How To Live A Simple Life And Be Happy: 12 Powerful Tips
- 7 Ways To Enjoy Life To The Fullest
4. Practice Gratitude
Practicing gratitude is one of the most vital habits that’ll bring joy into your life. To be honest with you, for the longest time, I used to believe that practicing daily gratitude was nothing but toxic positivity. I used to hate it when people tell me to “just be grateful” as if it were a cure-all for every problem I faced. It felt dismissive of the real struggles and pains I was experiencing.
I mean, sure, it’s so easy to be grateful when everything in our lives is falling into place but when our lives are falling apart, finding something to be grateful for just seems impossible.
This is certainly what I felt when I was struggling in life. I thought that practicing daily gratitude was nothing but a waste of time and I should just focus all my attention and energy on my problems and everything that was going wrong.
I believed that doing this would somehow push me to be more determined to solve my problems and improve my situation. However, what I didn’t realize was that this constant focus on the negative was actually draining my energy and making me feel more hopeless.
It was like I was stuck in a loop, where the more I focused on my problems, the bigger and more insurmountable they seemed.
It made me feel more defeated to the point that I started believing that I would never be able to turn my life around and improve my situation. Over time, I’ve come to realize just how crucial practicing gratitude is, especially when life gets hard.
I’ve learned that being grateful is not about pretending that everything is okay. It’s not about minimizing the problems that we are facing or invalidating the pain that we are feeling. It’s about finding a way to acknowledge the good amidst the challenges.
It’s about giving ourselves a moment to recognize that even on the worst days, there can be moments of joy or aspects of our lives that are working well.
Yes, doing this may not solve our problems but it can become a source of strength and hope even on the most difficult days. It can be a helpful reminder on days when we feel like giving up that there are still aspects of our lives worth fighting for.
This doesn’t mean ignoring the tough stuff, it means facing it with a slightly fuller heart and a reminder that we’re not defined solely by our struggles.
Gratitude can shift our focus from what’s missing to what remains, from what’s broken to what still holds strong. This perspective doesn’t just buffer the blows, it can actively rebuild our hope and motivation.
When we take time to appreciate the good, even if it’s just a warm meal, or a moment of peace, these acknowledgments can act as small anchors, grounding us amidst the chaos and pushing us to keep going.
Start by doing these:
Keep a Gratitude Journal: Each day, write down three things you are grateful for. It doesn’t matter how small or insignificant it may seem, as long as it brings you a sense of appreciation or joy. This practice helps to rewire your brain to notice and appreciate the positives.
Set Aside Time for Reflection: Dedicate a few moments each day, perhaps in the morning or before bed, to reflect on the things you’ve written in your gratitude journal. This reflection helps deepen your sense of appreciation and reinforces the positive feelings associated with those moments.
5. Be Kind To Others And Yourself
In a world where it’s so easy to judge and criticize others and even ourselves, let kindness be your guiding light. One of the most important components of inviting joy and peace into our daily lives is learning how to be compassionate to other people and ourselves.
I know that often we get so caught up with all the negative things that are going on in our lives that we tend to pass on this negativity to others, sometimes without even realizing it. I’ve been in this situation countless times. When I was navigating rock bottom, I was so consumed with everything that was going wrong in my life that I became so bitter and angry at the world.
I would justify this hate and anger inside me by telling myself that I was going through so much that it was okay to feel this way. But over time, I’ve realized that by allowing myself to hold on to these emotions, I was only making my situation so much worse. It didn’t only impact my happiness and peace but it also destroyed my relationships.
I’ve learned that one of the best things that we can do not just for others but also for ourselves, even when we are going through difficult days is to offer kindness and compassion.
We have to keep reminding ourselves that kindness is not only about making all these grand gestures, often the things that truly make a mark are those small acts of genuine care and attention.
Showing kindness and compassion to others and ourselves not only invite joy and peace into our lives but can also be incredibly healing for us. It reminds us of our shared humanity and our capacity to make a positive impact, no matter how small our actions may seem.
6. Practice Forgiveness
Bringing joy into our daily lives is not only about doing things that make us happy. It’s also about learning to let go of grudges and resentments and practicing forgiveness. I know that forgiveness is not easy. Honestly, for years, I have also allowed myself to hold on to so much hate and resentment.
You see, growing up, I was deeply hurt by the people that I love. I was made to feel like I was nothing and that regardless of what I did, I would never be worthy of their love. I hated them for making me feel this way and I took this anger with me as I grew older.
I thought that by allowing myself to hold on to these resentments, I was somehow protecting myself from being hurt that way again. I thought that as long as I was angry, I could prevent further pain. But the reality was that this defense mechanism was only doing so much more harm than good.
It not only made me so miserable and bitter but it also kept me from truly healing and moving forward. One of the greatest lessons that I’ve learned is that forgiveness is not about minimizing the wrong that they have done or invalidating the pain that they have caused.
It’s about choosing to finally free yourself from the pain of the past and allowing yourself the space to truly heal and move forward.
It’s about choosing to set yourself free from that giant weight that you have been carrying for so long and embracing the possibility of a new beginning. We have to remind ourselves that forgiveness is essentially a gift that we give to ourselves.
It’s a release from the burden of anger and resentment that has been holding us back from experiencing joy and fulfillment in our lives.
So please allow yourself the space to finally let go of the grudges that have been consuming your energy and keeping you from experiencing true happiness and lasting peace.
I know that it’s not easy and you may have to do it a thousand times before you’re finally able to move on but know that each attempt you make brings you closer to true healing.
Final Thoughts
It’s important to remember that consciously choosing to bring joy into our lives every day won’t mean that we can now be happy and joyful all the time. Rather, it’s about creating a mindset that appreciates joy when it occurs and cultivates resilience when it doesn’t.
Know that the path to joy and peace is deeply personal. So please only choose the habits that truly resonate with you and don’t hesitate to try different practices and keep the ones that fill you with a sense of contentment and calm.
This journey is unique to each individual, and what works for one person might not work for another. Trust your instincts, and adjust your approach as you learn more about what brings you genuine happiness and peace. Please remember that I’m always rooting for you.
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