Joy is always within you. Being happy is what your soul and body want. Happiness boosts your immune system, protects your heart, gives longer life, and balances mental health. So, when you’re unhappy, you instinctively move away from pain. You shift towards a joyful state of being. Here are a few tips to help you live joyfully.

1. Love yourself.

If you’re not happy with yourself, you’ll never be really happy. Finding faults in yourself is something you were taught to do by other people. These people judged you, and you believed what they said. You learned their negative talk and used it against yourself. It’s time to stop that negative self talk. It’s time to learn how to speak to yourself.

2. Take care of your body.

You don’t know how long you’ll live. When you’re young, it’s easy to experiment with drugs, sex, and dangerous antics. But as you get older, you realize your body has an expiry date on health. Respect your body and it will respect you.

3. Laugh at life.

Life isn’t always serious. Laugh at it. Even when life is dark and serious, you can find something to laugh at. For example, someone dies and everyone is sad. But you remember the person in a funny situation, and you laugh at that memory. It’s a healing and loving moment at once.

4. Learn to laugh at yourself.

Don’t take yourself seriously. Instead of hating your flaws, laugh at them. We all like comparing ourselves to others. It’s something we’ve learned to do. But we’re not perfect beings. So laugh at yourself if you make a mistake.

5. Stuff is stuff.

Don’t hold onto material things. These fade and pass from your interest with time. Hold onto moments of experiences and happiness instead.

6. Nobody ever dies wishing they had worked more.

Work hard, and find a job you enjoy. But don’t put work first before family, friends, or even yourself.

7. Don’t take someone’s advice as gospel.

Ask for advice from someone you respect. But don’t take the advice as gospel. Consider your situation and make your own decision. Make your choice based on what is best for you.

8. Set boundaries.

Set personal boundaries so you don’t take someone’s baggage as your own. Recognize negative people and realize they won’t change. Don’t take on more work than you can handle. Don’t offer to do something you won’t be able to complete.

9. Shoot for the moon.

If you have a dream, go for it! You may not achieve your dream, but simply trying is an achievement. And that counts.

10. Your time on this earth is now.

Don’t wait to do something. Suddenly you’re 60 years old and you realize you haven’t done the things you dreamed about. If you want to do something, don’t put it off for later.

Challenges transform you and provide experiences which teach you to live joyfully. What are your suggestions for joyful living?

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