The Paradox of Finding Joy
Not Every Moment Can (or Should) Be Joyful
I’m part of an online habit-building program that recently focused on building morning routines. I have been getting up early and slowly adding a few habits to improve my physical and mental health: Meditation, yoga, and journaling.
On a recent webinar I mentioned that my new habits have started to feel like drudgery after months of daily practice. I’m quite honestly bored by the thought of meditating at this point, and I just want to do something new and shiny.
Another participant suggested (in all caps) FIND JOY IN YOUR MORNING ROUTINE.
Okay, sure. Wouldn’t that be lovely if I could just access joy during tasks that are good for me but a bit tedious? If I could, you can bet that I would be doing healthy stuff all day every day.
Joy can be a challenge. For someone like me who lives with chronic dysthymia (mild depression), it can be well nigh inaccessible even on the most joyous occasions. I’m not sure that I was particularly JOYful at either of my weddings, even if I was happy to be there and excited to get married.
Can you imagine if you were filled with joy every time you brushed your teeth? Even if you could tap into joy on command, should you? If every routine were a joyful experience, wouldn’t…
