Finding Your Joy
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One of the most crucial parts of being healthy in your whole being – mind, body and soul – is in having joy in your life.
Having joy in your life has been called many different things – defining your legacy, living your passion, or a sense of wellbeing. I call this “Finding Your Joy” after the Japanese word ikigai (“ee-key-guy”) which translates to “joy and sense of wellbeing from being alive.”
I personally have been on a path to finding my own joy for the last few years and have come to realise that this is not what most people think. It is not the old saying of, “I was born to [fill in the blank].” As the author Neale Donald Walsch says in the movie The Secret, “There is not a big blackboard in the sky that says…” you will do such-and-such with your life.
In fact, finding your joy is much easier than this: Do whatever makes you happy, do lots of it, enjoy doing lots of it, and find as many ways to implement these activities of joy into your every day life! There, very simple!
However, if you are quite like me (mostly the male side of the population I am afraid to say guys) and want to complicate things because you find it hard to believe how easy it can be to do what you want, try this:
Look at your life in a few different areas and then one at a time (1) assess your current position of happiness, (2) where you would like to get to, and then (3) what you can do now to get you closer to optimal, and (4) what you can look to do in the future to get you even closer to optimal joy.
Try these categories:
- Family
- Finances
- Career
- Spirituality
- Physical
- Emotional.
On my search I have realised that I find my greatest joy in being of service to others and giving my knowledge of health and wellness to those that desire it. I am going back to work today after a fortnight off on paternity leave with my wife and newborn child, Tabitha Joy, and however much I would love to stay at home more I am excited to get back to helping people to find their own joy and help them to help themselves reach their goals.
For each person trying to find their joy, it is important to look at the big “WHY?” of why you are aiming for this area of your life to be joyful, and why you have chosen certain things to strive for. My goals are even further motivated by the new addition to my family, and I hope you have something equally as attractive to pull you in the right direction.
I would love to hear any stories of how you have found your joy in life – it might just be from simple things in life like walking in nature, or watching your favourite football team, or even the larger aspects such as helping your favourite charities. Please comment and let me know your thoughts.
Good luck finding your ikigai!
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There are as many ways to joy as there are different varieties of human beings. One way where I find meaningful is giving thanks.
It is good to have one day in a year designated for the expression of gratefulness. We do not have one here in Malaysia. But I am always in the mood for gratefulness. Hope you don’t mind me joining in. Your presidents were so wise!
The world would be less chaotic, it would be a more peaceful place if each one of us has the awareness in him that there are plenty for which he should be thankful for.
Gratefulness gives us contentment and peace of mind. These two qualities help reduce our stress level. This means we become less stressed which is good for our health.
To remind myself of my good fortune, I have drawn up a list for my daily expression of giving thanks.
http://novice101.wordpress.com/2008/10/30/now-is-as-good-a-time-as-any-for-thankfulness