The Human Mind Can Find Joy

The human mind can find joy, if you know where to look. A simple guide to finding joy no matter what. As sure as the sun rises and sets each day, you will have periods in your life when things are just not going your way. In reality, life is basically a constant fluctuation of emotional highs and lows.

While most of our time is spent in the fairly even, mundane state of emotional normalcy, this is broken up by the peaks of the best of times and unfortunately, the valleys when nothing is going right.

Everything that surrounds getting through this pandemic is based in suffering and pain, its just the nature of the beast. Death, isolation, fear, facing the unknown and grief and loss can strip of us our joy and may lead to depression.

While you cannot control what happens outside your door, you CAN control yourself. There are things you can do to maintain a positive and even joyful mindset.

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The Human Mind Can Find Joy:
What is joy, anyway?

Joy is much bigger than happiness. While happiness is often seen as being dependent on external circumstances, joy is not.

Joy is an experience. Joy is experiencing life fully in the present. Joy can be experienced through things, but joy is not the thing itself.
 
Power and money fail to bring inner peace. Outward attainment will not bring real inner peace. Outward attainment will not bring real inner joyfulness. We must look inside. 

The problem is not choosing the wrong versus right things. The problem is in believing “things” provide us with joy. Things don’t provide us with joy; it is experiencing the thing that brings us joy. 
 
Materialistic values cannot give us peace of mind. So we really need to focus on our inner values, our true humanity. 

Most Type A’s define joy based on accomplishments, titles, awards, meeting deadlines, material possessions, professional success, societal approval, and following traditions. However, many times the pressure to achieve these goals creates pain instead of joy. 
 
Sadly, many of the things that undermine our joy and happiness we create ourselves. 

Much of the pain we feel is wrapped up in things, nouns. Nouns are deadlines, expectations, and outcomes, which are usually outside of our control. The desire to control what we cannot causes pain. When the physical outcome is different than what we desire, it can lead to self-attack, depression, and disappointment. When we are anxiously waiting for a thing, we often miss out on the experience happening in the moment. When we tie joy to something outside of ourselves, we cannot truly feel joy. 
 
As one of the seven billion human beings, I believe everyone has the responsibility to develop a happier world. We need, ultimately, to have a greater concern for others’ well-being. In other words, we need to develop kindness and compassion, which are sorely lacking now. 

We may not have power to change the economy, our employer, or the healthcare system. We do, however, always have the power to change our reaction to our circumstances. Focusing on pain, fear and worries only increases pain, fear and worry. When we choose instead to get out of our self by making true connections and giving freely in service, we find real happiness, hope and joy returning to us. 

For me, happiness is transitory based on external circumstances and things, nouns. Joy can be constant (or fairly constant) because it is based on how we view and experience life. As joy is not tied to external circumstances, the simple truth is it is up to you to choose the experience you want. To experience more joy in life, we need to stop feeding and focusing on fear. Instead, we need to actively reach out, make connections, and give compassion to ourselves and others. 

Notice how I said you need to give compassion to yourself! It all starts with YOU.

Are you choosing fear, happiness, or joy? ~parts adapted via Melissa Heisler

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Make no mistake; sometimes periods of solitude are healthy and necessary. Right now, isolation is the norm as we fight a health crisis. However, when you find yourself in a really low spot, robbed of your joy, connecting with those who make you happy is mandatory.

Although it may seem obvious in concept, avoiding people who have the opposite effect can sometimes be the real battle. Negative individuals are especially important to keep out of your life when you are already struggling to find joy in your current situation.

You can stay connected during Shelter In Place orders, when you are isolating at home to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Technology has seen to that.

·       Face Time on iPhones and Video calls on Android

·       Skype

·       A simple phone call

·       Email

·       Text

·       Zoom and other video conferencing software can bring together friends and family while staying safe and following health official’s orders.

·       Good old-fashioned letter writing

The Human Mind Can Find Joy:

Remember That Nothing Is Permanent

 “THIS TOO SHALL PASS”

Nothing in life is permanent. Fortunately, nothing in life is permanent! Let’s state that again, this will pass.

During periods of extreme happiness and joy, thinking about the temporary nature of each season in life is not something we like to dwell on.

 

On the contrary, keeping this truth in mind during the low times can be very beneficial. Whatever you are going through, no matter how bad it may be, it WILL pass.

In fact, most of the difficult times you experience in life will end without any extra effort on your part. It is so easy to get into the mentality that we have to put forth an immense amount of effort to make something bad go away.

Even though this is sometimes the case, most of the time, TIME is the only remedy for tough situations. If you want to maximize your joy during difficult times, remember that your situation is not the way things are, only the way they are RIGHT NOW.

 

The Human Mind Can Find Joy:

Base Your Happiness On Yourself

Since we have discussed how life is divided into highs and lows and the fact that nothing will lasts forever, this leads to another thing to keep in mind during the best AND the worst periods.

 

The Human Mind Can Find Joy:

If you want to have joy on a consistent basis, your joy absolutely cannot be dictated by your circumstances

If you let every good thing that happens to you leave you soaring on cloud nine and every negative situation send you crashing to earth, you will go through life in a state of emotional exhaustion! Stable, consistent, sustainable joy can only be created and found within yourself.

Life is far less about what happens to you than it is how you react to it. You are in charge of how you feel. Don’t fall into the routine of letting happiness get to your head and failure to your heart.

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