10 WAYS TO INCREASE YOUR JOY

EPISODE #74

Today’s episode is going to cover:

• • • 10 ways to increase your joy and your happiness
    • 7 joy killers you must avoid
    • 12 small ways you can spread joy to others in big ways

WE’RE TALKING ABOUT JOY THIS WEEK!

WHY JOY?

The idea of joy changed my life. Ok, it was the word JOIE itself that moved me most, and the French phrase JOIE DE VIVRE. The day I realized joy was a choice was the day everything about my attitude towards life changed. I became happier, healthier, more confident and optimistic.

WHAT IS JOY?

Joy defined: a feeling of great pleasure and happiness; keen pleasure; elation

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A thing of beauty is a joy forever: its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness. – John Keats

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RELECTION QUESTIONS:

• • 1. Have you found joy in your life?
    2. Has your life brought joy to others?

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Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it. –Greg Anderson

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My answers to those questions:

• • 1. Yes – I find it in my relationship with God, I find it in the small pleasures of life – les petits plaisirs, I find it in writing, I find it in movement, I find it in optimism, I find it in the celebration of things, I find it in learning, I find it in the sunrise, I find it in the cool breeze of the fan above my bed, I find it in brushing my teeth, I find it wherever and whenever I can.
    2. I make this question a part of my conscious daily goals.

I believe, no matter your circumstances, you CAN have joy in your life.

THE JOY BLACKLIST:

• • 1. Perfectionism
    2. Underestimating Your Worth
    3. Striving for External Measures of Success
    4. Try to Do it All
    5. Agonizing over Past Mistakes
    6. Focusing on Shoulds and Shouldn’ts
    7. Comparing Yourself to Others

INVEST IN YOUR JOY:

• • 1. Gratitude journal
    2. Bring joy to others
    3. Decide that happiness is part of your character
    4. Set goals, work towards them
    5. Let go
    6. Live our your values
    7. Change “I have to” to “I get to”
    8. Let go of feeling busy
    9. Celebrate the good you see in others
    10. Reframe your fate positively / expect the best

Countless studies have shown the effects of gratitude exercises on positive outlook. One study conducted by positive psychologist Martin Seligman asked participants who considered themselves severely depressed to write down three good things that happened to them each day for 15 days. Ninety-four percent of subjects reported a decrease in depression, while 92 percent said their happiness had increased.

SPREAD THE LOVE:

• • 1. Compliment freely – every time you think of something positive about someone, share it out loud!
    2. Thank your parents for loving you unconditionally
    3. Be a mentor (and think about 360 degree leadership)
    4. Appreciate loosely (show appreciation to the little people)
    5. Choose happiness and set the example
    6. Sprinkle kindness wherever you go
    7. Refuse to participate in gossip
    8. Never partake in negativity
    9. Believe in yourself
    10. Encourage and believe in others
    11. Celebrate other’s successes and joys
    12. Send snail mail

QUESTION OF THE EPISODE:

Hi Trish! I’ve been listening to your podcasts for about a year or more now and finally feel i can step outside my comfort zone and ask a totally stupid question. I am 50 next month, been emotionally eating for a few years now to compensate for an unhappy marriage and have gone from around 70kg (140lb?) to nearly 100kg (200lb) and a size 12/14 – size 18. I have just started running again after a bad ankle sprain early in the year, doing a c25k. I have no idea how to get this weight off except starve and that doesn’t seem the right thing to do, so question – if I run the c25k twice a day – will that help increase my fitness twice as fast or is that pointless? I’m stuck! I know I need to move more but as an introverted introvert, I hate gyms. But now I’m so big, I can barely do basic exercises. Apart from the c25k as often as I can move my fat butt, where do I start?

I understand if this doesn’t get answered, but it’s worth a shot!

Thanks. Maggie

LISTENER OF THE EPISODE:

Hi Trish!

I just wanted to thank you for the all of the time, energy, and self that you put into each and every one of your podcasts. I’ve been a listener for a long time now and look forward to every Tuesday when I know I’ll be getting some positive motivation!

When I first started listening, I was trying to get in shape and have a healthier relationship with food. I have since gotten my eating under control, run 6 half marathons and am training for my 3rd full marathon.

The confidence I feel from having accomplished these goals has spilled into other areas of my life as well. I recently left a job that I wasn’t passionate about to start my own business. It has been overwhelming at times, but the insights and motivation I get from listening to your podcasts helps me put things into perspective.

Thanks again for everything you do!

Megan

OH, AND I CAN’T FORGET!

I would love to hang out with you – yes, in person!  I am speaking at the Well! 2014 Health & Fitness Influencers Conference taking place this October 26^th-28^th at Harbourtowne Golf and Conference Center in St. Michaels, Maryland.   Here’s a link to the conference to check it out for yourself: http://eventsbywell.com, and, get a discount because you know me by using this code: TrishB

IF YOU WANT TO BE FEATURED AS LISTENER OF THE EPISODE ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS SHARE YOUR STORY WITH ME!

• Voicemail
• Email – trish at trishblackwell.com
• Contact on my website – www.trishblackwell.com
• Twitter – @trainerTRISH
• Facebook – www.facebook.com/trishblackwellfitness
• Instagram – @traintrishtrain

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