With all that’s going on today and in your world, do you sometimes feel down? Overwhelmed? Wishing there was a way to feel happy, joyful, fulfilled?
Me too. That’s why I was thrilled to be interviewed recently by Authority magazine for its interview series “Finding Happiness and Joy During Turbulent Times.” They’re talking with experts, business leaders, authors and mental health professionals who share lessons from their research and experience about how to find happiness and joy during troubled and turbulent times. And boy, aren’t those the times we’re living in. You can read the interview here.
To a large extent, your happiness is in your own hands
The interview was a great discussion about finding joy. When working with a certain healthcare client, I shared the extraordinary research on the nature of happiness, well-being and joy. Of particular interest is the work by Sonja Lyubomirsky, especially her books The How of Happiness and The Myths of Happiness. Sonja has done fantastic research on happiness. Do we realize how much of our joy is in our own hands? She teaches us that we can manage our minds to create a life filled with joy if we want to and if we try to. Powerful stuff.
So how do you find joy when everything around you pulls you down? Or at least when it seems to feel that way? Is Sonja correct that only half of our sense of well-being and happiness comes from our surroundings, our home life, and our work?
Five ways you can find happiness
In the Authority magazine interview and my 2-minute video that’s part of it, I share my list of 5 things you need for a life marked by more joy and happiness. They work for me, my husband, friends, and many clients. I invite you to see how they might work for you, too. (Watch the video here.)
- First, take the complex and make it simple.
- Second, practice gratitude every day.
- Third, perform acts of kindness.
- Fourth, visit the people who matter to you.
- And Fifth, find your purpose.
Reach out to others, and that connection will bring joy to them and you. You will be amazed how your smile creates a warm feeling and a smile in others.
Here are some things I have done
When asked how to help support someone feeling down, my answer was to reach out to them, either with a phone call, a note, a text, or what I have found so satisfying: a Zoom call. I also love to send emails to five people a day to say hi! Try it!
Recently, several women colleagues and I formed a Women’s Thought Leaders Luncheon Group where we come together and share our stories. The power of simply seeing each other’s faces, even remotely, for an hour a month and hearing that we are doing ok, working at our jobs, and living with pleasure is all we need to smile ourselves.
My wish is that all of us, in whatever ways, big and small, can seek and find joy and happiness every day. Remember, it is all in your mind’s eye. Collaborate with your mind, and you will wake up each day smiling. Keep smiling! Keep trying!
From Observation to Innovation,
Andi Simon, Ph.D.
Corporate Anthropologist | Author | CEO Simon Associates Management Consultants
Andisimon.com
Info@simonassociates.net
@simonandi
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