Finding Small Moments of Joy

At the end of a long, difficult day, we often find ourselves mulling over how everything went wrong, or how things were so stressful, or some other negative aspect of that day. We could do ourselves a lot of good by finding even the smallest moments within our days that brought us joy, or at least a sense of meaning.

We all know how much gratitude can benefit our wellbeing and outlook on our days and lives. But sometimes, after a particularly unpleasant day, being grateful for anything that occurred can feel like too much to even try and muster. Instead, try finding little “joy bites” from your day (or week, or month — however you’d like to do it!).

What do we mean by “joy bites”? It really just involves recounting the day’s events and, rather than nitpicking at the bad moments, — as we all typically might — you nitpick at the good. Someone cut you off in traffic? But at the light, when you turned left, the car opposite you allowed you to turn before they drove straight. Your coworker snapped at you in the morning? But someone made extra coffee that you got to have. The house was a mess when you left in the morning? But your family was so excited to see you when you got back in the evening.

By nitpicking our days for joy, meaning, purpose, and little “bites” of good, you will hopefully find yourself feeling less like the bad outweighed the good. Nothing is too small, truly, for your heart and brain to hang onto as positive moments in a negative day. Hopefully, you’ll feel less down and more energized to go and do it all again tomorrow!

And when there are days in which you can’t find anything to be positive about, that’s okay too. Acknowledge the day, acknowledge how it might have sucked, and let it pass. There’ll be joy bites tomorrow!