6 Simple Ways to Find More Joy in Your Everyday Life
When you were a child, even the smallest things would bring you joy: mom cooking your favorite meal for dinner, receiving a friend’s invite to a birthday party, or coming home from school with no homework to do. But, as you get older, it gets harder and harder to find joy in your everyday life.
As your to-do list gets longer and the number of responsibilities you take on increases, life can stop tasting as sweet as it did before.
But adulting doesn’t mean that you cannot be playful, carefree, or joyful.
Yes, life might be different now – but it still can taste sweet! You just need to shift your perspective and make an effort to find things that can bring you joy in the everyday routine.
That’s why I wrote this article in the first place: to help you become happier by sharing these 6 easy ways to find more joy in your everyday life, starting today!
RELATED: 10 Simple Things to Do to Feel Happier in Your Life
So, are you ready to start this journey to a joyful life? Then, let’s get started!
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1. APPRECIATE THE MUNDANE
Have you noticed how you tend to miss something only when you can’t have it anymore?
Maybe you’ve just moved to college and realized how much you miss living with your parents, even if only months earlier you were snapping at your mom for being always in the way.
Or maybe you’ve just had a baby, and now miss those quiet mornings that you used to take for granted.
Perhaps, you’ve changed jobs and now have to go to the office by taking an awful 1-hour long train ride that you absolutely hate, when just until yesterday you were complaining about being stuck in traffic every day.
There is one simple way to find more joy in your life – starting today – and that is to fully embrace and appreciate what life offers you now.
Savor your freshly brewed cup of coffee a little bit more intensely, tomorrow morning.
Kiss your partner goodbye as you leave home in the morning.
Appreciate your daily commute to work, as it gives you some “alone time” to think and be present.
If you journal every morning after waking up, truly be appreciative of the extra time you make for yourself each morning.
The beauty of life is not about constantly doing extraordinary things; it’s about making the ordinary feel extraordinary.
2. PRACTICE GRATITUDE
On the same line, learning to be grateful for what you have in life is an essential tool that will allow you to find more joy in the everyday routine.
If you’re not grateful for what you have, no matter what life will give you, you’ll never be satisfied!
And, while it’s obviously easier to be thankful for everything good that happens to you – you have also to master the art of being grateful for what’s not doing you good.
Why? Well, it’s related to the Law of Attraction.
To land your dream job, you first have to be grateful for the one you have now. No matter if you hate it because it’s dull and boring, your coworkers are unbearable, and your boss always yells at you – there must be something good out of it!
It allows you to pay your rent so that you can have a roof over your head.
It’s pushing you to find things, outside of work, that can bring you happiness!
Maybe, it’s pushing you to work on that side hustle you’ve been dreaming of since ever!
If you embrace the things that happen in your life and are grateful for them, you’ll emanate and attract even more positive things!
You are focusing on the good.
Good thoughts attract positive things.
The good attracts more good.
3. HAVE A “GIVING” ENERGY
Have you ever felt excited as someone is unwrapping the gift you got him or her?
How good does it feel to open the door for a stranger?
And, if you’ve ever done volunteering, you get what I mean when I say that the world simply feels like a better place to live in.
When you shift your focus on giving, you don’t have time to stress, worry or feel sorry about your problems and life circumstances.
You’re focusing on the other person.
You’re focusing on doing the greater good, rather than thinking about how miserable your life is.
The act of “giving” doesn’t have to be something huge. It can be something as simple as:
- Holding the door for the person after you
- Smiling to your barista as you order your coffee and ask him or her about the day
- Give a phone call to someone you haven’t heard in a while
- Pay for the coffee for the next person in line
- Be fully present when you’re in the company of someone, not looking at your phone
- Prepare a meal for someone you love
- Remind someone how much you love them
- Pick up trash and plastic at a local beach or park
When you focus on what you can give and do, you shift the perspective over your entire life.
4. BE WHERE YOUR FEET ARE
There is one rule you should live by if you want to find more joy in your everyday life:
“Be where your feet are”
Let go of the past. It’s gone.
Stop worrying about the future. It’s out of your control (partially).
All you have is the here and now.
You can’t change the past.
You can’t predict the future.
But, you have power over what you can do right now.
So, take a deep breath and…let go.
Let go of what it has been. Let go of what it should be.
What is it that you want to do? What is it that you can do?
Focus on the here and the now, because that’s all it really matters.
Life is a sum of moments. Make each of them count.
5. APPROACH LIFE PLAYFULLY
Let me see if I can shift your perspective…
Do you want to know the truth about yourself and your life?
Here are some truths:
- You live on a floating rock!
- As you constantly think about yourself, so do others!
- What you’re stressing about so much right now is not going to matter in 3 years…
- You cannot make everybody happy! Someone will always have to find the negative in what you do, say, or decide; so why bother?
- Life is a game: take it easy and make it fun!
Do you know what are some of the worst ways that prevent you from finding some joy in life? If you constantly worry, stress, and make a big deal out of insignificant things…you’re creating your own misery.
As long as you don’t hurt yourself or anybody around you – why aren’t you doing that thing that you really want to do?!
So, ask yourself:
“What is it that I want to do?”
Then go and do it!
Who cares if it wasn’t the right decision; actually, there’s no right or wrong!
There is just what feels right in that certain moment of your life.
Remember: even if you made the wrong move – you’re still in the game!
6. ADD SOMETHING THAT EXCITES YOU
How often do you complain about not having enough time to do all the things you want?
Yet, you always find time to “squeeze” in one more episode on Netflix.
Or get those 10 extra minutes of sleep.
And somehow, you always manage to scroll on TikTok for at least 30 minutes before falling asleep.
Have you ever asked yourself why you do all those things?
Why do you hit ‘Next Episode’ when you’re well aware your bedtime was 30 minutes ago?
Or why do you sleep in, even if you know you’ll have to rush out of the door to make it on time to work?
And why do you get stuck into a rabbit hole every night watching TikToks, when you promised yourself you would read tonight, instead?
It’s called Revenge Bedtime Procrastination, and we’re all guilty of it!
You do all of the things mentioned above because you’re trying to gain your power back.
After spending your whole day doing things for others, you convince yourself to believe that you’re finally doing something for yourself.
But, is it really like that?
If you have some free time, do you really want to spend it mindlessly watching TikToks?
Do you really want to passively invest your time?
Do you really want to consume, rather than create?
Most of the time, if you feel out of energy is not because you have too much on your plate…
What might be happening is that you’re not doing anything for yourself, for your mental and physical well-being.
So, if you want to find more joy in your everyday life, you don’t need to take things out.
You just need to add one thing that can make you feel happier.
So, what is it that you want to add to your life?
What are your tips and tricks to find more joy in your everyday life? Share your thoughts in a comment!
Until next time,
Love this pos! I’m practicing a lot of these strategies in my life currently.
That’s good to hear!
All of these are good! I feel like staying present helps so much with appreciating the little things and being in gratitude. It is so easy to forget in the rush of life. Thank you for the beautiful reminder.
Too many people, things, and thoughts steal our attention every day…It’s so important to be intentional with your time 🙂
These are all such great tips. Having a daily gratitude practice made a huge difference for me. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts!!
Gratitude is one of the best practices! Good job 🙂
I like the playful idea the most. I love practicing gratitude, and this is something I try to do every day. It’s great to have such a list of things to improve our lives. Thanks for sharing these tips!
Yeah, I feel like most of the time we take life so seriously…but it doesn’t have to be that way! We can still live life with the joy and lightheartedness of a child 🙂 No?
I think shifting your perspective is really helpful. Looking for the positives rather than the negatives.
It’s definitely easier said than done! But we can all do it 🙂
Practicing gratitude is a big one I think. They are all good ideas though. I also like to approach life playfully. There is nothing better than a good laugh. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you! 🙂
Being present is a big one for me that I need to work on. Thanks for the reminder!
Ooh, you’re calling me out with “keep your feet where you are” tip. I’ve been really slacking on many of the things (especially practicing gratitude). Really great read! Thanks so much for sharing.
I’m glad this served as a gentle reminder 🙂
Hey Giada, your article really struck a chord with me. It’s so true that as we grow older, it’s easy to forget the simple joys in life. Your tips are a great reminder to appreciate the everyday moments.
Amen! Make your life more enjoyable by finding joy in its small moments 🙂