I just did something that I wouldn’t normally do: I cued up one of my favorite songs, set it to repeat, and had a dance party. I danced around my office. I sang my heart out. I jumped around and waved my arms and hopped around the room. It was wonderful. It was freeing. It was absolutely magnificent.
So what inspired me to rock out? I heard my soul whisper to me that it might be fun. I heard my soul tell me that everything would still get done. I heard my soul ask me to just try adding more joy into my life – just to see how it felt.
Like many of us, my default setting seems to be permanently set to being efficient with my time and working a lot and helping others and then working some more and then taking care of my loved ones and then maybe (and it’s a bit fat maybe) if (and it’s a big fat if) there’s time left over, I can take care of myself and possibly add some joy into my life.
I have a feeling this might sound familiar to you. So many of us know how to have fun (I promise I do!), but we are so used to pushing our joy aside.
Dancing around the room helped me see that inviting joy into our lives really doesn’t have to be a huge deal. It doesn’t have to include a complete life overhaul. It can be just a few minutes of singing or dancing or doing anything at all that we feel is fun. Not for the sake of making progress or making money or making someone else happy. Just for the sake of feeling alive – feeling in our body – feeling free. And in that moment of freedom while I was dancing just now, I remembered that this whole joy thing definitely isn’t overrated. It is actually essential.
If you’re ready to invite more joy into your life as well, here are a few reminders to get you started:
- Remember that you are worthy of feeling joy. This is a big one, and it really starts with believing this at your core. Know that having fun and feeling completely alive is your birthright. And then allow yourself to experience it.
- Remember that inviting joy into your life doesn’t have to be a big deal. It can mean that you take five minutes out of your day to sing and dance (like I just did). It doesn’t require rearranging your already busy schedule. It just means that you’re consciously inviting it in and creating mini pockets in your day to experience it.
- Remember that you feel joy differently than someone else feels it. What this means is that you may feel joy in a boisterous, laughing-out-out kind of way or you may feel it in a quiet, inner peace kind of way. And they are both okay – neither is better than the other. You will know joy when you feel it – loud or quiet, it will bring you peace and freedom and a sense of aliveness. And that’s pretty wonderful.
I’m coming to realize that joy is one of the first emotions and expressions and feelings that I let go of when I feel busy and stressed and overwhelmed. And I’m also coming to realize that it’s the first emotion that I would like to invite back into my life. Because what is the point of all of the busyness and all of the success if we aren’t able to enjoy it? What’s the point of our life if we are too stressed to stop and really take in all of the good?
I’m starting to really get it: joy is essential. Really essential. Not just something I talk about and write about, but something that I actually experience fully – at the gut level. It’s truly a non-negotiable experience.
I invite each of us to consciously invite joy in. I promise there’s plenty of space for it. And I also promise that you’ll feel pretty amazing once you do.
Hugs,
Jodi
Jodi Chapman is a bestselling author, an award-winning blogger, and a soulful community builder. She lives her life with love and faith in the driver’s seat, and she hopes to leave a trail of inspiration wherever she goes. She believes that we each have the ability to hear our soul’s whisper and create our best lives. She would love to connect with you!
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