The Complexity of Joy

Sometimes, we can hesitate to embrace the feeling of joy.

It’s common to pause joy, fearing its temporary nature, that there isn’t time or space for it, or feeling unworthy of it altogether.

Joy can be a daunting emotion.

When we allow ourselves to revel and luxuriate in it, we’re reminded of its impermanence.

This emotion, like all emotions, is temporal.

If we allow ourselves to accept joy, we know it will leave, and this can cause anxiety about its eventual departure.

As a result, we may instinctively block, restrict, limit, and downplay to protect ourselves from the letdown.

There may also be guilt associated with celebrating ourselves.

We may worry that celebrating our wins somehow diminishes others’.

We celebrate everyone else’s wins but fail to center and celebrate our own.

Or maybe we feel we haven’t earned the right to celebrate because we haven’t reached our ultimate goals yet.

We don’t allow ourselves to celebrate the milestones because we have not summited the mountain.

Even more common, we get so caught up in the rush of the day-to-day grind that we don’t stop to savor and find joy in all the moments, experiences, and people around us.

This is a great time to release any potential blocks or barriers to joy and to celebrate instead.

Look around you, take in all the big and small things you’ve accomplished, and allow yourself to celebrate joy.

Each moment of celebration is deserved, and you don’t need permission to honor your achievements and, by so doing, inspire others to do the same.

So celebrate yourself and the moments that bring you joy.

I’ll be celebrating with you.

Always,

Your Trusted Friend ❤︎