I’ve been blogging for 5 years now. When I first started I was not very open about it. I was writing solely for myself then, to save myself from feeling so unhappy. Over the years I have been more and more open. I think everyone that knows me now knows that I write.
As I have become more and more open about my blog I tend to get one question more than any other. When I describe my blogs topic, having more joy and happiness in life, I am often asked where to start. The question is phrased in different ways:
What is your advice for someone to feel happier right away?
How do you suggest someone start Chasing Joy?
What is the first thing a person should do to feel happier?
What’s the first thing you tell people who want more Joy?
The first time I got the question I though about it for a second. Since then my answer is the same. Count your blessings. The reason being, that it is hard to feel both grateful and unhappy at the same time.
That is my short answer. Now I know it is not that simple. If it were this blog would have ended a long time ago because I ‘d have nothing else to say. The reality is that most of us have lots to be grateful for but we also have lots to feel stressed, overwhelmed, angered, or saddened about. It all comes down to focus. The more you focus on the things you have to feel grateful for, the less space in your consciousness there is for the sad, stressful, and overwhelming things.
On the surface gratitude is easy but after a while it can get more and more challenging. If you had to write 1000 things you were grateful for the first 10 would take only seconds.
- Family
- Friends
- Health
- Home
- Job
- Hobbies
- Vacation
- Relationships
- Laughter
- Pets
See that was easy. But as you go on and on it would get harder and harder to think up new things. It would require more thought, more observation, and more focus to find things to be grateful for. It is in shifting your focus to beyond the obvious things to feel grateful for that feeling grateful will begin to lessen the severity of those feelings of unhappiness.
In addition to gratitude there are many other ways to have more joy. Trying new things. Improving your relationships. Improving your health. Accomplishing goals. Affirmations. Spiritual Practice. Boosting self-esteem. I could go on and on but practicing gratitude is the easiest way to get started. You can keep a physical list of gratitude in a journal. You can create a Joy Jar. You can express gratitude as part of your prayers or spiritual practice. You can participate in #ThankfulThursday on your favorite Social Media Sites. Just so many ways.
There you have it. The answer to Chasing Joy’s most asked question.
If you could do just one thing to feel happier where would you start? Would you take up gratitude or do something different?
I love this! Life is really all about practicing an attitude of gratitude!
I was just saying I was gonna make a jar to put all my positivity in for the entire year! Extra confirmation I love the positive energy of this post!
I like the idea of a Joy jar. I always end the day counting my blessings. You are right the first ones are easy. I will have to try to list a hundred.
I SO agree! Gratitude helps us find joy, even in the small things that we often overlook!!
Being a happy person makes it easier to be joyful. I would suggest that someone smiled more and criticized less. This is a very inspirational post.
Many could really be more happy if they counted their blessings. I know a few people who could benefit from ways to feel happier.
That was a great idea about saying to count your blessings. You backed it up succinctly and perfectly too with the reason why. Love this post!
I do not know what I would do to make me happier. I think right now money would make me happier but I am thankful that I have a job and a home. It would be so hard to write down 1000 things that would make me grateful.
Gratitude is definitely key to happiness. I have so much to be grateful for but often take it for granted.
Writing for yourself can definitely be a cathartic experience. I think most people's blogs and goals change over the years.
I agree that counting your blessings is a great way to feel happy. We often need reminders of all that we have to be thankful for.
This is very true, writing down everything you are grateful for is a great idea can really make you appreciate what you have.
Great points and I love the idea of jotting down 1000 things to be grateful for. By really sitting down and dwelling on those things, the joy that come with appreciation will automatically grow!
This is so true! It's so easy to loose sight of just how lucky we really are… But that in my opinion is the key to happiness!