Why is it that pets and small children find joy in little things all day long? Why are the rest of us so grumpy? They/we were born with this ability and we lose it with time. To recreate it, I suggest we gamify joy finding.
Our grumpy side may say “we don’t have time for this. Life is very serious.” And, yes, that is way too true. The human brain, however, can hold two divergent thoughts at the same time. We are rather complex creatures.
So, how could we set this game up?
Let’s set a goal of finding/creating 3 joyful moments each day.
- Define what a joyful moment is for you.
- Track them.
- Assess your day. If you did not have 3 minimum joyful moments, why not?
Perhaps we need some rules around this as games generally have rules.
Rule 1. No more than one joyful moment can count if it something you watched on your phone/device.
Rule 2. No one should deliberately get hurt. If they slip and fall on the ice by themselves, you can count it. (But please help them up).
Rule 3. You don’t have to share what you put on your list. This is just for you.
So, let’s think together about what a joyful moment could be.
- When you accomplish something you have been trying to do for a long time.
- When you share something meaningful with another.
- When you experience a positive emotion/experience that you did not expect.
- When you can acknowledge the accomplishment of someone else.
Please add more as they come to you.
If you have been looking for a way to improve your outlook, this is worth a try. Keep track for a week, and see if this is a practice you would like to continue.
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