“Be very careful what you think. Your thoughts run your life.” Proverbs 4:23
Here are 7 tips for a joy-filled day:
- Pay attention to what you are paying attention to.
Our brain is changing moment-by-moment based on what we consume, what we think, and what we do. It’s called neuroplasticity. What we dwell on helps us or hurts us and it’s gradual – just like weight gain. Bottom-line: We are sponges! We soak up what we see and hear. (Kids are even more spongy than adults.) It’s EASIER to notice the negative and magnify the minuses’ than to promote the positives. The solution: read, watch, talk about, and think on the good stuff.
“You have to actively feed the positive and starve the negative.” Levi Lusko
- Continually remind yourself of your blessings.
Ask yourself:
- “Do I think more about my disappointments or my blessings?”
- “Am I focusing more on what is going WRONG more than what is going right?”
What’s your answer to those two questions?
If you find yourself focusing on your disappointments and what is going wrong, more than your blessings and what’s going right, then you can change this pattern to experience more joy. You are the boss of your mind. Disappointments are a part of life, but we don’t have to focus on them. If you let negativity in the door, it will want a seat at the table. If you give it a seat at the table, if will want to sleep in your bed. When negativity comes knocking, slam the door. Replace it with worship, gratitude and praise. Focus on your blessings.
It’s easy to take for granted the blessings we’ve had the longest:
- fresh water,
- our marriage,
- a home,
- heat and air conditioning,
- blankets and a bed,
- enough food to eat.
Keep a gratitude list/journal and add to it each day. Review it when you are feeling down!
- View each moment as a new beginning.
Each day, even each moment, can be a fresh start. You don’t need to be mad about something or someone you were mad at yesterday. In fact, when we are thinking negatively about someone, we are actually poisoning ourselves. We can’t feel good about ourselves when we feel rotten about others.
Hate is a boomerang. If you spew it toward others, it comes back and creates self-loathing.- Joe DeSena
4. Spend time with people who make you BETTER.
If you want to become better at something, hang out with people who are better than you. Spending time with people who are consistently negative will rub off on you. Years ago, I had a good friend who regularly talked negatively about her spouse. I found myself trying to find things in my spouse that were negative just so I could relate to her. Yikes!
Hang out with people who love you but challenge you to be the best version of yourself. As you’re trying to be a good mom, talk to moms you admire or who have raised good kids. Because you want a good marriage, spend time with those who fight for their marriage.
“Iron can sharpen iron. In the same way, people can help each other.” Proverbs 27:17
5. Our current emotions are not FACTS, they are FEELINGS.
What are emotions? Emotions are subjective indicators of objective events. You are NOT your feelings – you are more than that. Life is a mixture of good and bad. Emotions may want you to feel bad when life, in general, is really good! Focus on the good that happens.
Allocate your thoughts to the following categories:
- Blessings
- Things that I can fix
- Scripture memorization
- How I can help others
“Emotions don’t reveal the quality of your life… they reveal the quality of your thinking at any particular moment.”- Tommy Newberry
- Have an “Early Morning Joy Ritual” (EMJR).
Joy needs to start first thing in the morning. EMJR is one habit that will elevate your joy.
Start your day with:
- Writing down 2-5 things that bring you joy,
- Reading something uplifting,
- Daily Declarations,
- Memorizing Scripture.
- Finally, be on the LOOKOUT for Good.
We have approximately 50,000 thoughts a day – 90% are repeats. What I’m thinking about today predisposes me to repeat those thoughts tomorrow. If I’m thinking mostly negatively today, I’m more than likely going to do the same tomorrow. Choose your thoughts wisely.
“Continue to think about the things that are good and worthy of praise. Think about the things that are true and honorable and right and pure and beautiful and respected.” Philippians 4:8
You’ll always find something good when you LOOK for it.
Which joy tip will you implement today? Please leave us a comment.
Please share this post with someone who may benefit from reading it.
Love,
Kathryn Egly & The Help Club for Moms Team
For more on this, check out Tommy Newberry’s book: The 4:8 Principle: The Secret to a Joy-filled Life and The Joy Challenge by the Help Club for Moms
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