The joy in you not the times

If you are like everyone else, you will have events in your life when things are just not going your way. The truth is life is a constant wave of emotional highs and lows.

So much of our time is spent on an even keel, mundane state of emotional blandness, interrupted by the peaks of the best of times and unfortunately, the valleys when nothing seems to go right.

Few if anyone searches for information on how to deal with the best moments of their lives. They ride the wave. Then, finding that handling the lows can be a difficult task they bemoan their fate. Today we live in very troubled times, a pandemic has taken over most of the world, and people are being affected in many profound and unexpected ways.

Everything surrounding this pandemic is based on suffering and pain, it is just the nature of the beast. Death, isolation, fear, facing the unknown and grief and loss can strip of us our joy and may lead to depression.

We cannot control what happens outside our door, what we CAN control is ourselves and how we react. There are things we can do to maintain a positive and even joyful mindset.

In the following discussion, let’s talk about three methods for doing just that.

Having the right people around you

How often have you heard it said that you are the total of the five people you surround yourselves with most frequently. If that is the case, you must make sure you have the right people around you. Especially, when going through a difficult time, it is critical to hang on to your joy. At times, when life is beating you up, retreating into the solitude of your home, wanting to throw the covers of your head, and be left alone with your thoughts, can feel like the best option.

Make no mistake; sometimes periods of solitude are healthy and necessary. Right now, isolating yourself is the norm as we fight this health crisis. However, when you discover yourself at a low point, robbed of your joy, connecting with those who make you happy is imperative.

Although it may seem obvious, avoiding people who have the opposite effect can sometimes be the real battle. Negative people are especially important to keep out of your life when you are already struggling to find joy in your current situation.

You can maintain connections during Shelter in Place orders when you are isolating at home to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Technology has seen to that.

·         Face Time on iPhones and Video calls on Android

·         Skype

·         A simple phone call

·         Email

·         Text

·         Zoom and other video conferencing software can bring together friends and family while staying safe and following health official’s orders.

·         Good old-fashioned letter writing

Remember it can’t rain forever

Nothing in life is permanent. Fortunately, nothing in life is permanent! Let’s state that again, this will pass.

Into every life, some rain must fall. Later the sun shines bright and hot. During periods of extreme highs and lows, thinking about the temporary nature of each season in life is not comfortable to dwell on.

On the contrary, keeping this truth in mind during low times can be beneficial. Whatever you are going through, no matter how bad it may be, it WILL pass.

Most of the difficult times you experience in life conclude without any extra effort on your part. It is so easy to embrace the mentality that you must put forth an immense amount of effort to make something bad go away.

Even though this is sometimes the case, most of the time, TIME is the only remedy for tough situations. If you want to increase your joy during difficult times, remember that your situation is not the way things are, only the way they are RIGHT NOW.

Choose to be joyful

Since we have discussed how life is divided into highs and lows and the fact that nothing will last forever, this leads to one last thing to keep in mind during the best AND the worst periods.

If you want to have joy consistently, your joy absolutely cannot be dictated by your circumstances.

If you let every good thing that happens to you leave you soaring on cloud nine and every negative situation send you crashing to earth, you will go through life in a state of emotional exhaustion! Stable, consistent, sustainable joy can only be created and found within yourself.

Life is far less about what happens to you than it is how you react to it. You are in charge of how you feel. Don’t fall into the trap of letting joy go to your head and disappointment to your heart.

My final thought

Adverse situations are a part of every life. Do Not allow it to rob you of the joy that should be yours. Try affirming to yourself every day, “today, I choose to feel joy in my life.”

I hope you have found this post to be beneficial. Please share it with your family and friends.