Practical Strategies to Stay Positive and Find Joy When Life Gets Tough
It can be difficult sometimes to find joy in our lives, even for those who are naturally positive. The difficulties we encounter can knock the wind out of our sails. New or worsening health problems, financial challenges, and the negative attitudes in the media and around us can make it hard to see good on even the sunniest of days.
Although it’s difficult to find joy, it’s not impossible.
Joy can be cultivated, and we can learn to find joy whether our days are full of sunshine or are weighted with clouds. Joy is not a denial of the realities of life or a pollyanna-like replacement of genuine emotion; rather, it comes alongside and co-exists with our other emotions, helping us from becoming overwhelmed by the challenges of life. Cultivating joy has been found to have positive benefits.
Here are a few ways to find or reclaim a sense of joy in your life.
Keep a gratitude journal.
It’s so easy to focus on the negative things in life and even to recall those things days or weeks later, but it’s important to take conscious note of the things that we are—or should be—grateful for. These don’t have to be major things. We can cultivate gratitude over the small things in life: a warm cup of tea, sunny weather, the sight of a pretty bird, or listening to relaxing music. Keeping a journal of these things, whether on paper or online, will help us to remember that we can be mindful of the positive things around us even in the midst of difficulties.
Identify one positive event each day and tell someone about it.
When it’s hard to find the joy in life, we have to be intentional about looking for it. Again, the positive things you look for don’t have to be major life events like weddings or the birth of a child. A positive event could be something as simple as lunch with a friend, or having an encouraging conversation with someone.
Be kind to others.
Research shows that people feel better when they show kindness to others. These small acts of kindness can be simple things like giving someone a smile, holding a door, paying a compliment, or buying someone a cup of coffee.
Change your perspective.
We all have certain things we don’t like doing, or situations we don’t enjoy being in. Identify one of those things and then look at it in a positive light. Do you hate washing dishes? Listen to your favorite music while you wash them and focus on the joy it brings you. Give yourself permission to let this joy co-exist with the dislike you may feel at having to do these tasks.
It is also helpful to set a small, daily goal in these areas and track your progress. People tend to feel more positive when they feel they are making progress. You don’t have to set goals in all of these areas, and you don’t have to adopt all of these ways to cultivate joy. In fact, not every suggestion listed above will work for everyone. Pick one to try, and see if it helps. If it doesn’t, try a different one. If you find something that works, stick with it.
Even when cultivating joy becomes a habit, we have to continue to be intentional about finding it each day, as it is so easy to get pulled down into the negativity that surrounds us. But cultivating joy will change our attitude, and a positive attitude is not only its own reward, but it can also bring about positive changes in our health and well-being. Sometimes being joyful takes work, but the end result is worth the effort.
If planning for your future is an area of your life that has you down, the attorneys at Pettis Webber Pacific P.S. can help you sort through your questions and navigate the challenges of estate planning. They stand ready to help you find joy and peace of mind as you plan for the second half of life.