Finding Joy: Four Questions to Ask When You Seem to Have Lost It

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2. “Is there humor here?”
So many comics find joy in their own life’s misery, and it allow us, as audience members, to stop and laugh along with them. We laugh because the stories are familiar. We laugh because they happen to us too. We laugh at the ability of the comic to step out of their pain for a second and find humor in it. Why can’t we do the same when we start to lose our joy?
 
3. “Where’s the other 96%?”
There was a study not long ago, that indicated if 96 good things happened, but 4 bad things happened, there’s something about our human nature that will causes us to dwell on those 4 crap-tastic things that just took place. When I find a moment robbing me of my joy, I stop and ask “Is this part of the 4%? And if so, do I really need to give it that much weight? Where is the other 96%?” Over the course of the day, I might have been irritated by running late for a given thing, but I also accomplished three things that needed to be done, I have a husband who loves me and two healthy daughters, I had a safe drive home, and I caught all the green lights. There is the other 96%.
 
4. “Am I going to grant this moment the ability to have that kind of control over me?”
Mom always taught us, that we don’t have much control over much in our lives, but we do have control over our attitudes. Our attitudes are a choice, so why not choose a good one? When you are feeling like your joy is being taken from you, choose to take it back. Demonstrate a choice to gain control of the moment, to gain control of your thoughts. Do not allow that inconsiderate person, that thoughtless driver, or that lid that just came off the coffee cup leaving the contents in your lap, to control you. Take back the power by taking back your joy.
 
We hope these 4 questions can help you keep your joy in perspective and even finding it again when it disappears. Let us know how it goes!