How can you be joyful during a Pandemic? How can I choose joy when I am locked in my house with my kids? How can I find joy while grieving? Have you ever asked yourself any of these questions? You see and hear people talking about finding Joy in all this chaos and here you are just trying to survive another day!
Well let me tell you that you are not the only one struggling to find Joy in this pandemic, in the extreme chaos of your life or even if you are dealing with grief. I will tell you this, choosing joy every day is a choice and it’s something that you have to be intentional about! You have to chase it every dang day and make it a point to schedule it into your day, yes I said SCHEDULE JOY into your day!!
Years ago, I was living a life full of chaos, I lacked self identity, was stressed, depressed and anxious about everything. God spoke so heavy to my heart about seeking joy even in the chaos. I had to learn to look for joy in the things I complained about. I had to be joyful through chaos and I also learned to find joy in such challenges like death. I started to be intentional about chasing joy every day and I scheduled it into my day so I had no excuses. Here are some things I have done and highly recommend to help you chase joy every day!
- Gratitude Journal- Get yourself a gratitude journal and write in it every day. Write down at least 5 things every day in your journal that you are grateful for. I typically think back to the past 24 hours and write the blessings I experienced. Look for the small blessings that surround you daily that we typically take for granted. The blue skies, the sound of birds singing, the kind gentleman who let you cut in traffic, hearing the laughter of your child, etc. Look for the things we typically take for granted. When you know you are going to write it down daily, you begin to create a habit to seek these moments of joy and gratitude.
- Create a JOY List– Make a long list of things that bring you joy. Write down small things that you can do every day when you need it, like dancing. If dancing brings you joy as much as it does for me, then that is something you can do every day to shake off the funk. Also include those big-ticket joy makers like the beach or Disneyland. Both again on my list and not so easy to get to daily, but when I can it fills my cup. I created a FREE Joy List that you can download here. Refer to this list when you need to chase Joy!
Work It Out- Having a daily dose of endorphins helps to serve as a joy booster. After doing a google search to find some useful information on the impact exercise has on your moods, here is what I found:
- After 20-30 minutes of hard aerobic exercise, endorphins are released and will result in a great energy boost for a few hours, and a mild like buzz for up to 24 hours.
- With high endorphin levels, we feel less pain and fewer negative effects of stress.
- Many studies have shown that people who exercise regularly, have a boost in moods and lower rates of depression.
- Regular exercise has been proven to reduce stress, anxiety and depression, boost your self- esteem and improve your sleep. This information was found in a great article on webMd that I encourage you to read further on: https://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/exercise-depression#1.
Lastly in the words of Elle Woods, “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people don’t shoot their husbands.”
– Legally Blonde- Make a stressed/blessed list- if you are finding it extremely difficult to seek joy, then make a stressed/blessed list. I had to do this at one point in my life, because I was so blind and lost, that seeking Joy during a dark season was so hard to do. So, this is what I did, I wrote down everything that was stressing me out or causing anxiety during that season of my life. Then on the opposite end of it I had to write the blessing attached with it. Here is an example:
Stressed – Pile of dirty dishes I had to wash every day.
Blessed – I have food to cook for my family.
Stressed – Long commute to work.
Blessed – Time with my own thoughts, or a podcast, or singing session.
Stressed – My family member died.
Blessed – I get to celebrate a life and someone I love just entered heaven. - Add Joy to your Calendar- You have to make time for yourself each and every day. You have to chase joy every moment you have and scheduling it into your day/week/month and be intentional to ensure those moments happen frequently. Make time each morning for gratitude and “me time”. Add a small dose of joy from your joy list into your weekly calendar and be diligent to chase those moments, because you are worth it!
When you start to chase moments of joy it becomes a way of life. I say, “chase joy”, because it is something that isn’t natural for us and can easily get away from us. Especially in such times as a pandemic, so you have to put your running shoes on and chase it. You might not make it to the finish line right away, but when you chase it down, you are moving in a forward direction that gets you that much closer to joy than you were yesterday. Every inch counts, every moment is a mile marker, just remember chasing joy is all about the journey!
