Finding Joy in the Everyday, Happiness, Health, Joy, Life, Tips

By Margarita Tartakovsky

As you rush through your responsibilities and put out the inevitable fires of your day-to-day, you might feel like joy is hard to come by. Or you might think that joy is reserved for bigger occasions like weddings, birthdays and holidays.

Joy doesn’t only live in the major moments. Joy lives in the seemingly little things. Here’s how you can find it.

Margarita Tartakovsky, MS, is an associate editor at Psych Central and authors the body image blog “Weightless.” She writes about everything from anxiety and ADHD to creativity and couples to mindfulness and stress. You can learn more about her work at her website.

Define Your Joy

Joy means different things to different people. For some people joy is spending all day outdoors hiking. For others it’s staying in curled up on the couch with a good book. For some people joy is cooking a big dinner for loved ones. For others it’s going out to eat. Joy is also different day to day. Some days you’ll want to connect with your family or friends. Other days you’ll want to savor your solitude. What does joy mean to you? How does the meaning change throughout the week? What activities bring you joy? If it helps, make a list of the top five activities and schedule them into your days. Joy is not a rarity or luxury, and it’s not that hard to find. Sometimes, it’s right in front of your face, and all you need to do is pay attention. Other times you can engage in activities that cultivate joy and create special moments.