Self-Care for Writers – Feel the Joy

Goofy Happy Joy

We not only have to be aware of our thoughts and our success, we also need to be aware of our emotions.

Because they are our guides. They let us know how the things we do fit us and our dreams and goals. They warn us if something is wrong. So it’s worth it being aware of our emotions. Get that message.

And even though most of us have been taught that our emotions are like a force of nature that we have to endure, that simply isn’t true.

We can choose how to feel.

(Yes, there are limits, and I have great respect for people who carry on despite depression. *hugs for you*)

But even within those limits we can choose to feel joy.

There are tricks to do so, and it’s absolutely worth to practice this. Because feeling joy or feeling happy does a lot of good things to your body and your mind.

Joy chases away stress. It stops the fight mode. It returns your body to healing and ease. It activates the vagus system – which in turn lets you calm down, let go of adrenaline, it actually lets your body lower blood pressure, process food and unstore fat, heal, enjoy sex… lots and lots of good things, even physically.

And it’ll help you be really creative. As long as we’re in fight/flight mode, we can’t fully use our brain. Creativity is basically turned off, because we’re – physically – in survival mode. Thus feeling joy even feeds your muse. Cool, isn’t it?

So yes, feeling joy is very much worth it beyond the actual moment.

Here are some tricks for you to step into your joy.

Trick One:

Look around you. Is there anything that could make you feel happy?

Maybe a plushie, a book you love, maybe a book you wrote, a picture, maybe a flower, the sun outside, or your pet? It can be anything, big or small. All it has to do is raise that little bubble of joy for you.

Developing this habit – finding at least one beautiful thing a day that made me smile – once helped me drag myself out of depression, after moving and being unhappy with my course of studies, when I was feeling very lonely. Just that little kick of joy can shift the entire hormonal mix of your body.

So do it now. And tell me in a comment what made you feel that blip of joy, okay? That’ll help others get ideas for their joy.

Trick Two

Whenever you do something – dishes, cleaning, typing, reading Facebook – allow joy. Laugh at something that happens. At a funny meme. At a perfect sentence that comes out. That fresh mug of tea or coffee. Feel joy over those clean dishes. Nothing is too small to feel joy over.

(I cleaned some light fixtures the other day, something that I had been wanting to do for years. Literally. I still feel that particular joy.)

Feel that joy, allow that moment. Let it flood you.

Be aware that you can call this up. That joy is inside you, no matter where you are.

Trick Three

Make feeling joy a conscious choice.

Just where you are sitting right now. Reach into yourself and pull up joy, as if it were on a menu. Feel it bubbling up. It doesn’t matter what’s going on around you. Only that joy matters in this moment.

And don’t for a moment think you don’t deserve this. Joy is yours to feel whenever you want to. Do it.

Notice very clearly that you can do this.

Notice that it is your will that makes it possible.

Notice that joy is available for you at all times.

Quietly. Gently. On your own.

Feel that joy.

This, obviously, is the mastery. But you can get there, with a bit of practice, and with the knowing that it is possible. That’s the trick.

Feeling the joy is always, always possible.

But you have to allow that belief, or you won’t be able to do all those tricks. You have to know deep inside that it is possible. For you.

Which is why I offer some tapping right here.

Even though I was taught that feeling raw joy is sinful and something to be ashamed of, I’m totally okay the way I am, and I now give myself permission to feel joy whenever I want to.

Even though I learned that being happy can’t be a choice and that I must rely on others to feel joy, I’m totally okay the way I am, and I now choose to find that joy whenever I want to.

Even though I always thought that joy can’t be a free choice, that there must be a reason to feel joyful, I’m totally okay the way I am, and I now give myself permission to feel joy whenever I want to!

Your Turn:
How did it feel to feel joy?
How did you get there?
What happened while you were tapping?
And finally – what are you creating right now?
Please share in a comment.

Image Source: F. Moebius

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