TAKE STEPS TO ATTRACT MORE JOY INTO YOUR LIFE!

Scientific studies suggest that your thoughts and reflections on joyful moments whether past or present can have a profound long term impact on you – mentally, physically and emotionally. From a Law of Attraction perspective we attract into our lives whatever you focus on. Whatever you give your energy and attention to will come back to you. Thus, by focusing on a positive emotion like joy you start to create a mindset that resonates with more of the same. But the benefits don’t stop there!

“It has been proven now scientifically that an affirmative thought is hundreds of times more powerful than a negative thought.” — Michael Bernard Beckwith

Historically it was believed that positive emotions were only beneficial in the present moment. However, new research shows that positive emotions like joy have a long lasting effect.

There have been numerous scientific studies on the positive impacts of living a joyful life, and one of the most consistent findings is that joy is good for both our mental and physical health. In one study (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3122271/ ), Barbara Fredrickson, PhD, suggested that people might improve their psychological well-being, and perhaps also their physical health, by cultivating experiences of positive emotions at opportune moments to cope with negative emotions.

Joy & Gratitude are Friends!

It turns out that joy is a first friend of gratitude. One study found that gratitude predicted increases in states of joy over time and that joy predicted increases in feelings of gratitude. This indicates that there is a simpatico relationship between joy and gratitude. (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17439760.2017.1414298 )

“There are countless ways to access and experience joy. It’s one of the gifts of being alive that we can take delight in so many different ways! Yet all of them seem to rest on one basic capacity: the ability to receive. To feel joy, we must be willing to let things in, to allow ourselves to be touched by life. (Even the joy we feel in an act of giving depends on our ability to receive the beauty of contributing, the gratitude of the recipient, or the kindness in our own heart” –Oren Sofer (https://www.mindfulschools.org/personal-practice/joy/)

Here are 7 Great Strategies to Experience More Joy

Step 1: Schedule Personal Time Outs

No matter how much work you have to do – there is always more work to be done. You don’t owe anyone every single second of your day. Take periodic time out from your busy schedule just to focus on you. Whether it is a favorite book, watching an enjoyable sit com, taking a walk or just sitting in a comfortable chair and chilling – the point is to do something that raises your feel good vibration.

Step 2: Imagine Happiness

Find a comfortable place to close your eyes and think of something you enjoyed doing. Imagine every detail and every moment. Reenact the entire scene. This is powerful. You see, many studies have proven that our brain does not know the difference between something real and something imaginary. It actually responds to both in the same way – by increasing the feel good endorphins.

Step 3: Diffuse Worry

Constant worry seldom reveals solutions. In fact, chronic worry can affect you physically and mentally. If there is something that is worrying you take a moment to do the following: Write it down. Read it. Acknowledge what you can control. Reflect on what you can do. Then give yourself permission to accept that there are some things that are beyond your control.

Step 4: Identify Energy Drainers

Let’s face everyone can think of an associate, family member or friend who focuses constantly on gloom and doom or negativity, complains a lot, has a life filled with chaos and is often pessimistic and needy. Being around people like this has a tendency to shift your joy and drain your energy. The only person you can change is yourself. Practice self-care by minimizing extensive conversational interactions with energy drainers. Give yourself permission to set limits to how much you will endure and move on.

Step 5: Show Appreciation

Showing heartfelt appreciation triggers an instant change in mindset. Appreciation is about value and acknowledge. It inspires a sense of well-being. Research shows appreciation – whether you are the giver or receiver, counteracts the physiology of the stress response. It triggers feel-good joyful hormones like nor-epinephrine. Dopamine flows in the brain’s pleasure pathways. Heart rhythms relax into a more stable, coherent order. By all means take time to appreciate yourself and all that you have to offer.

Step 6: Slow Down

If your day is a blur from the time you get up to the time you go to sleep, consider slowing down. You’ve probably heard the phrase, Stop and smell the roses. It means to take time to enjoy and experience the gift of the present moment. Consider taking periodic breaks where you can slow down your thoughts and let your mind relax. Gaze out a window or observe your surrounds and take in the moment.

Step 7: Laugh More

Laughing has many, many benefits. When was the last time you laughed so hard that tears came out of your eyes? Studies have shown that serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin, endorphins and even endogenous opioids can be released when we laugh. (https://thedaily.case.edu/laughing-is-good-for-you-heres-why/ )

Laughing releases stress, lifts your mood, relaxes your body and increase the level of oxygen in your body. To increase you joy barometer, consider setting a daily intention to laugh more. Try watching a funny movie, following a TV sitcom or listening to your favorite comedian. Spend time with friends doing fun activity. Look for the lighter side of things. A quick fix to get a laugh on the fly is to ask Siri, Google or Alexa to tell you a joke. The response may at the very least put a smile on your face.

THE TAKE AWAY?

You can choose to deliberately participate in the creation of your future by managing your thoughts and feelings. Joy is a powerful emotion from both a scientific perspective and a law of attraction perspective. It is a necessary component to a healthy life style. Joy can help us think more creatively, bounce back from negative emotions and thoughts, and generally improve our emotional well-being – while attracting more positive energy into our lives.

“Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Article by RHONDA ORAH WATSON, Author, Consultant

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