Joy challenge 2018 is over. 🙁 If you don’t know about Joy Challenge, it’s run by a lovely lady called Amina Makhdoom Lynch every April (this was year 3 and my 2nd Joy Challenge). As the name suggests, it’s a challenge to bring more joy into your life throughout the month of April. It’s wonderful – Amina makes it a real event, with participation gifts, check in calls and a really lively and fun Facebook group.
I love it – I’ve already signed up for next year’s challenge! (You can too, here) It’s great to have a reminder to focus on Joy daily, and the community is wonderful – a nicer group of people you could not hope to meet.
So what did I get out of Joy Challenge this year? For a start, a greater understanding of how challenging it is to choose joy! We have so much conditioning that says we need to put work, chores, others, everything else before joy. It’s barmy. And if I think about it too much, I want to stand on my soapbox and rant about it!
But it has been useful for me to see this resistance so clearly because this year’s book project is on creating strong foundations for your life – self-care, self-love, joy and energy – and I know I need to make sure I talk a lot about this resistance because it can really get in the way of us feeling better and enjoying life more!
Last year after joy challenge, I created a playlist of songs that were joyful (the Pink Panther theme tune, Get Happy by Frank Sinatra, Groove is in the Heart by Deee-lite) that I play every morning. (I’m not a morning person and this practice has made a tangible difference to how grumpy I am in the morning!) This year, I realised I have a playlist of music I LOVE that I rarely play. That’s changed – I now play that playlist most days.
The biggest ‘change’ though has been something that has a huge impact on my level of joy…and it’s the easiest thing in the world. It is simply to NOTICE joy. Most days I do things that I love to do – I write, listen to music, sing, watch tv shows I love, read, dance/do yoga/walk.
When your focus is on increasing joy, you notice the joys you already have in your life. Yes, you can add more joy, do more things that you love deliberately, but simply noticing what you already do that gives you joy, revelling in that joy and sharing your joy is so powerful.
So many of us do the opposite – we notice where we were wronged or went wrong, we chew over that, and we share it with our friends. I get it…sometimes the ‘bad’ stuff makes a better story! When I was travelling in Australia, the tales of sitting on a beach watching the sunset and being deeply blissful were way less amusing and interesting than the kamikazi hurtle down a mountain perched on a razor blade (otherwise known as mountain biking).
But if you’re in the habit of focusing mostly on the un-joyful parts of your day, maybe you could shift that attention just a touch, just a smidge. Because trust me, when you start to reflect on your joys, on the moments of bliss, on the wonderful things that you experience daily, it exponentially increases the amount of joy in your life.
And when I talk of joy and bliss and wonder, I’m not talking about First Class trips to the Seychelles with a sexy man, a million pounds in your pocket and crowds of adoring wellwishers throwing flowers and gifts at you (although I wouldn’t say no to this!).
I’m talking about the sun coming out and bathing you in light. I’m talking about the first sip of your favourite beverage. I’m talking about giggles with your loved ones. I’m talking about that moment of breath when you’re done for the day. I’m talking about taking the time to do what you love to do…and enjoying it. I’m talking about belting out your favourite song in the car.
Big, life-changing, headline-worthy joys are awesome…but it’s the daily, small joys that really fill your life with joy. It’s noticing every little thing that brings you joy and thoroughly enjoying that moment. It’s making joy more important than hurt or anger or apathy or irritation or judgement.
“Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy, and keep choosing it every day.” Henri J M Nouwen
So will you choose to notice the joy in your life today?
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