Hiya Gorgeous!
I’ve been thinking lately about our tendency to postpone joy:
- “I’ll be happy when…”
- “I’ll take a break to savor life after…”
- “When things slow down, I’ll get to…”
In those moments, we’re letting future benchmarks bar us from happiness. Other times, we bar ourselves from joy because of something that’s happened in the past. Specifically, grief. After losing someone we love, joy can feel like a betrayal. Or at a minimum, inauthentic. (Akin to saying, “Hey, everything sucks but let’s party!”) It’s not. Our loved ones would want nothing less than genuine joy for us.
And, as we’ll discuss in today’s video, your body needs joy. Joy is healing medicine at a cellular level. But it can still feel hard to access. So if you’ve been struggling with how to be happy again after a loss or just trying to figure out how to get out of a funk, hit play for my two easiest tips to welcome joy back into your life. (Plus a special reading from my latest book, I’m Not a Mourning Person!)
How to Be Happy Again: Two Simple Steps
Read the transcript here…
Kris Carr: Joy is the medicine. And I’m probably going to go over time just a little bit, but I want to read just a very, very, very short thing about joy.
“So if life has brought you to your knees and atrophied your joy muscles, you may be thinking, How am I supposed to find joy at a time like this? It hardly seems like the perfect conditions to have a blast. Everyone I’ve loved and held dear is evaporating before my eyes—let’s party? I get it, I really do. In the early days of my grief, the thought of cultivating joy seemed impossible. Infuriating and worse, insulting. It was all of those things and more, which is why I had to fight for it. And you might have to fight for it too. And yet joy is essential to our healing. It also keeps you from becoming the type of person who writes Facebook screeds with no paragraph returns, and texts in all caps. (We know those people.) Here’s why this is important. Joy isn’t just a feel good emotion. Joy is medicine. It affects our biology at the cellular level and is a key indicator for our overall well-being. Joy boosts our resilience, making us better able to cope with life’s ups and downs and crashes. It helps to reduce anxiety and depression. Joy helps us sleep better. It even lowers blood pressure and improves cardiovascular health. Basically, joy is a natural health booster and painkiller with zero side effects.”
I’m Not a Mourning Person
That is the medicine of joy. And it doesn’t have to be big things like, you know, going to the amusement park or flying to Paris. Though, let’s all go to Paris together, let’s leave tonight. It could be something very small. I talk about this a lot. And the joy that I get from my hummingbirds. The joy that I get taking care of the feeders and making their food and getting to know them and seeing all their little arguments and whatnot, gives me so much joy. Even just to take a moment when I’m anxious or feeling sad, to go outside and get a magical dose of hummingbirds, that’s what I’m talking about when I’m talking about filling the joy well. And when we fill the joy well, it allows us to celebrate life and enjoy the small moments.
Here’s what you’ll discover:
1. How joy increases your resilience.
And helps you weather the storm.
2. The biological benefits of joy.
Including better sleep, lower blood pressure and improved cardiovascular health.
3. The easiest way to say Yes to joy again after hard times.
(Hint: start small!)
Now it’s your turn. What’s one small joy you’ll say Yes to today? Share yours so we can inspire each other!
Hope & happiness,
I will enjoy snuggling with my grandson on this cold day.
Thank you Kris for your inspiration. I love your crazy sexy Cancer book.
That sounds like an amazing day!
riding a chairlift up to the top of a mountain!
That does sound joyful!!
Love of my hummingbirds, too. But they’ve gone for the winter. In the meantime, the cardinal pair and all the other small birds are fine. With the leaves gone off the trees, I can better see the magnificent sunrises which also me bring me joy! Thank you for the reminder to always look for the joy…..
I feel joy greeting the moon and the stars each night – if they don’t hide. I love watching the clouds and the colours of the sky in the morning and in the evening. I feel happy when I find a moving connection to annother living being – human or not human – even if it is only a moment of meeting eyes….
There are many tiny moments in which I can experience joy, if I am open to feel it….
“I’m not a Morning Person” has literally helped carry me through losing my mom last Fall. Right down to my adopted Dad Ken who passed, when you said you were chosen by him it resonated deeply with me. I strongly feel that in our life’s journey the road we take bring amazing people on a journey with us even for a short time. I hope to keep Kris on my life road to help me over the twists and turns and even conquering the hills that seem like mountains. I’ve gifted her book to my hospice chaplain so she to can share with others and help them through their grief journey.
I’m deeply touched to hear that “I’m Not a Morning Person” has been a source of comfort during such a challenging time in your life. Losing loved ones is incredibly difficult, and it’s heartwarming to know that my words resonated with you. I’m here to support you on your journey. 💕📖🌟
Spending time with my grandkids. I also enjoy my hummingbirds. I have to wait until mid April to see them again.
I bet grandkids are wonderful! I hope April comes soon for you 💚
You…are one sensitive and divine woman! Always love all of your stuff, Kris…
and always so happy to hear it. It’s a gift…..
Aww thank you!