As a child, it’s so easy to find joy in the simplest things. It’s always so fun to watch my daughter, Charlotte, giggle and smile at the most random things – things that I would have never found funny, but because she is laughing, I am laughing. It’s so funny to watch her find joy in her toys she is looking at and I just love when she looks up at me with a smile on her face as if to say, “Mommy, do you see how cool this is?”. Somewhere along the way, many of us lose our joy. Life hardens us and it can be hard for us to find laughter or joy in every day.
I’ve talked about this before over and over, but it’s because it’s so important. We hold resentment and anger and we forget to find joy – I am guilty of this myself. We go through our day in such a fast pace and when something bad happens, we can completely fail to see any of the good of the day. I’ve been trying to be better about a daily journaling practice. In the beginning of my mental health journey, I would journal every day about things I was grateful for and things I loved about myself. It was a powerful mindset tool to work through the negativity that I had been struggling with. I have again been struggling with negativity and self-worth and I am coming back to finding the things in my life that give me joy, and the things that I am grateful for.
Even in the darkest of moments, there is always light and always hope. Even in the hardest of times, there is always something to be grateful for. Even when you feel all hope is gone, there is still a place or person for you to go to, to find peace. It’s all about perspective, it’s all about not being so hard on ourselves about our experiences so that we realize that we are worthy of feeling the joy.
So I challenge you in this moment to write down 3 things you are grateful for, 3 things that bring you joy, and 3 things you love about yourself. Notice how your mood shifts. Even if it feels odd or uncomfortable, the power of finding the light and the joy in a challenging situation helps to calm and ease your mind and can get you back on track towards healing.
It’s pretty powerful to recognize the power of joy and the power of using joy in the most difficult of times. Joy is all around us, just ask my daughter laughing or smiling at a colorful ball, her new play structure, or a funny song. It’s all about perspective, sometimes you just have to look a little harder, but joy is always there. Find joy in the hard times, find joy in new beginnings, find joy in tough endings – seek out the joy and see all the good it brings to you.
Xo,
Be Beautifully Simply You