4 Steps to Choose Joy Right NOW!
If you’ve been hanging around much lately, you know I keep talking about choosing joy - no matter what.
I believe joy is not just a state of being but also a choice that drives us deep into that state of being. However, I’ve wrestled all week with how naive and privileged that sounds in light of the tragedies in Haiti and Afghanistan.
Of course, I am naive and privileged, does that mean I should be quiet? Live in rage and despair instead? Should I stop checking my own thinking and behaviors? Stop teaching others to do the same?
No. I will not.
Choosing to embody joy keeps us calm and focused. It keeps us from generating more suffering for the human organism. Even better, when we contribute joy into the system - especially when we don’t feel like it - it ripples and thrills like only the Kingdom of God can.
Mary Baker Eddy who founded the Christian Science movement and died in 1910 said this:
“If you wish to be happy, argue with yourself on the side of happiness; take the side you wish to carry, and be careful not to talk on both sides, or to argue stronger for sorrow than for joy. You are the attorney for the case, and will win or lose according to your plea."
About two weeks ago, I decided to believe Mary Baker Eddy and simply choose which side I would argue for: All the incredible things that were afoot in the world (aka: a gratitude practice) or all the wickedness.
Here’s How:
I started to condition the habit by spending more time alone with God. In his presence is the fullness of joy, according to Psalm 16:11, so If I want joy, why would I be anywhere else?
I recognized that joy is not just a feeling or a state, it’s a command. The word rejoice is a verb. So I’m now making a point to rejoice always, pray for the earth continually and give thanks in all circumstances because according to 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 that’s God’s will for me.
I believed Habakkuk when he said though the fig tree doesn’t bud, and there are no grapes on the vine, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food … and the Taliban just took Kabul and an earthquake and a hurricane rocked Haiti on the same day … yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be joyful in God my savior. The sovereign Lord is my strength.
Then I go everywhere with as much joy as I can muster: I deliberately try to make people laugh, I look for ways to improve something for somebody. I give money. I help people get out of darkness into God’s marvelous light in whatever way I can because that is my purpose and the purpose of Girl Catch Fire.
What Viktor Frankl discovered through surviving a Nazi prison camp was that those who maintained a compelling vision for life after liberation were those who survived. In other words, they had something important to live for - a purpose.
That is why we make such a big deal about getting on purpose here. Doing so provides us a strong sense of joyful satisfaction which feels so good, but choosing joy in advance supercharges everything because joy is both the destination and the tool to get there.
If you want some help with choosing joy - especially at midlife - reach out to us at girlcatchfire.com/chat