Overcoming Stress by Embracing the Joy of Others

Recently there has been challenges thrown my way and I believe these challenges are opportunities to grow and change. It can be funny how you never know how high you can jump until you are asked to. Either out of necessity or you are being asked to. But, during these challenging times, it is very oh so very easy to allow stress to overtake you. Stress is a real thing, and when I feel it, I really feel it emotionally and physically. Can anyone agree with me?

In my studies of the word joy, I see and am beginning to understand that this joy is rich, full, abundant and can be accessed at any given moment :-) Joy as I am learning is like a well that is continuously flowing with fresh water and the more times you access this well, the more there seems to be. It is almost seems that the less you go to this well, the more it dries up.

One way to access this joy is to embrace joy from others and accepting it in your environment. Joy is a big-sounding word, and so we tend to look for classic expressions of “big” joy — huge smiles, exclamations of delight, hugs and cheers. The kind of joy associated with winning the lottery and marriage proposals.
Yet other forms of joy exist all around us. As you begin to look for joy, you will notice more and more of them. There is the joy of pleasures, simple or sublime, such as enjoying a delicious meal, listening to music, or savoring how it feels to hold a baby in your arms. There is the joy of purpose, and how it feels to contribute, work hard, learn, and grow. There is the joy of being connected to something bigger than yourself, be it nature, family, or faith.

There is the joy of having your needs met — being helped, listened to, or held in a comforting embrace. There is the joy of laughter, and especially shared laughter, and especially shared laughter when everything seems to be falling apart. These are just a few of the possible joys you can witness. When you keep your eyes open for them, you learn a lot about how much possibility there is for joy for ordinary moments, and even difficult circumstances.

How to catch joy
Here are five favorite everyday practices for catching joy. As you strengthen your intention to notice joy, you will surely discover your own favorite ways to witness and share in the joy of others.

• Watch a child or animal play.Delight in their joy, energy, and wonder. Let yourself smile or laugh as their playfulness awakens a similar spirit in you.
• Watch an athletic, artistic, or other kind of competition without taking sides.Appreciate the effort, skill, or artistry of all competitors — and celebrate the joy of whoever wins. Feel glad for their success, and watch how they celebrate it with others. See if you can extend your empathic joy to how they share the moment with friends, family, coaches, or teammates.
• Help someone else celebrate their happiness.If someone shares good news, ask them to tell you more, and listen whole-heartedly. If you become aware of an accomplishment or milestone in a person’s life, write them a congratulatory email or Facebook post. Go beyond cordial congratulations and really feel the joy of helping someone savor something positive.
• Witness the good in others.Set the goal to notice when others display character strengths like kindness, honesty, courage, or perseverance. Take joy in seeing the good. Feel heart-glad about what you observe. Let yourself feel inspired by their actions to do good yourself.
• Let someone else do something nice for you.This might not seem like a practice of joy, but it becomes one when you begin to pay attention to how happy it makes the other person. Sometimes our own discomfort with receiving kindness, or fear of being a burden to others, gets in the way of seeing that joy.

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Be full of Joy,
Coach Milton