On #1
Joy sometimes arrives like the calm after a storm in a quiet rainbow with the air still full of moisture. Not ecstatic, emotional, or hilarious. But rather, emerging from within as deep peace that betrays a contented smile.
For this title to make any sense, you must first consider the other end of the tension bar. Too easily, we may long for the joy of indulgence, over eating, over spending. And it is true, experiences of intense pleasure do feel great for a while. But often on the other side of them, we experience stomach aches, regret, and an emotional crash.
Therefore, I encourage you to reflect on the understated cognitive joys that you generate in your life. Things like:
Completing your daily tasks
Finishing a project
Doing your exercise
Staying on your eating plan
Working hard to generate extra income
Paying off a debt
Hitting a savings goal
Fixing that long neglected home project (or having it fixed)
Providing wise counsel or encouragement
Doing what needed to be done when no one was looking
Before you rush along to the next item on your list, stop. Take a moment to appreciate that you put yourself in a position for understated cognitive joy. Items such as these, and whatever else these may have brought to your mind, may result less in jubilant celebration than a quiet knowing you have done well.
Reflect and create your own list. Contemplate them until your own contented smile emerges.
Worth Repeating
Let your joy be in your journey, not in some distant goal.
-Tim Cook
