I was recently watching Grey’s Anatomy and in one of the episodes, they were talking about happiness and joy. Looking for joy and finding some happiness or doing things that made you happy. The looking for joy, really hit me.

It is all about our mindset and how we choose to view things. I could wake up in the morning and be annoyed or irritated at work. I could be frustrated with my commute. I could just be an unhappy person to be around. Frustrated with my circumstances, finances, the way the world is going.

or

I could wake up and smile. I could feel the happiness. I could look for things throughout my day that bring me more and more joy. Did you know that when you smile, it helps your mood?

I recently started smiling when answering the phone and my overall mood on the phone is happier. Customers seem to be happier too. Talking with a smile on your face seems to help lift any mood.

All of this sounds so grand and easy. Wake up and be happy, choose joy. We all know it isn’t that simple though. There are going to be days that no matter how hard you try, it is hard to see the joy. You are going to wake up on the wrong side of the bed and not be able to fix it. There will be days where nothing seems to go right and there will be days where it all seems to fall apart. This is okay. The important part is that you keep trying. Every day. Keep trying to find ways to choose joy. Keep working on being kind to your neighbor. At a certain point, you won’t have to keep trying, it will just come naturally. I am on the path of trying, everyday, trying to be better than I was the day before. Choosing Joy. Choosing Happiness.

Just remember, joy doesn’t have to be some grand gesture or experience. It could be someone complementing your glasses or opening the door for you or complementing your shoes! It is the little things, they matter the most. While you are on the outlook for joy, don’t be afraid to show kindness to others. If you like someone’s outfit, tell them. Imagine the world we could live in, if people started paying attention to others and were nice. For my introverts, this is harder to do trust me I am right there with you. The more you do it, the easier it gets. You never know how much you can brighten someone’s day by complementing them though.

Choose Joy and Share some love, we could all use a little more love.