You Are Designed To Go Through life With Joy.

Personal development is a great way to improve your life. While it focuses on growth and improvement, it’s funny how we sometimes wait for the day to say, ‘I have become better. ’ Let me break the news to you, if you are on this journey, there is no destination. It’s an ongoing journey, but the good thing is it gets brighter and brighter; you see the progress as you are on the journey. You can be a master in one area and still have more to learn in another; that’s personal growth. As they say, “When we stop growing, we are slowly depreciating the progress we have made.” Well, that’s it about the importance of personal development today, because I want to talk about the one thing that will make your day-to-day living better! Joy

You deserve to be joyful today. You are worth the laughter and happiness that life brings to you/ that you can create. I mentioned personal development first because sometimes we reserve or hold ourselves from feeling joyful with the excuse of reaching a certain destination first. I will only be happy when I buy my first car; commuting at the moment is very tough. I think I will be happier when I move to another country. I think I will be happy again when I hit my financial goals. Does that sound familiar? What dream, goal, or milestone have you reserved your joy for? The sad thing is, when you hit that milestone, if you don’t learn to cultivate joy now, even after moving to another country, chances are you will still go through life somber, waiting for yet another milestone.

There is strength in joy, the bible says that, “the joy of the lord is my strength”. We need to be in a joyful space to obtain the strength to reach our milestones. Joy is intrinsic; therefore, we need to cultivate it from within. A gratitude mindset is one way to allow yourself to cultivate joy.

Give yourself permission to enjoy life in the now while on your way to where you want to be. Enjoy the loved ones around you, your goals are important, but make time to enjoy human connection with your family and friends. Enjoy that meal, take your time to savour the flavours in your mouth. Enjoy the hours you need to sleep, don’t go to sleep worried about the time you need to wake up, or about the future and how far you are from attaining your goals. Enjoy the mundane and chuck complacency and scarcity out of your daily talk. Take time to enjoy some music. Whatever it is that you can enjoy, do it.

Remember, joy and happiness are two different things. Happiness is a reaction to what is happening around you, while joy is not reactionary but a state of being. While your surroundings may be in turmoil, acknowledge the feelings you may be experiencing and use your words to take yourself to a position of joy. No wonder why one of the gifts Jesus left us was joy, because he knew we needed it to live life as the best version of ourselves.

Some of the ways to help you stay in a state of joy include;

1. Focusing on what you can control. Oh, how our minds are quick to go down the rabbit hole of worry. Focus on what you can control and intentionally stop your mind from worrying by reminding and affirming yourself.
2. Let go of comparison. We all know it, comparison is the thief of joy. Learn how comparison can affect your personal development journey and how to deal with it here.
3. Build connections. Human beings are designed for connection. Be intentional in all your relationships
4. Your perspective matters!
5. An attitude of gratitude is a must.
6. Laugh and love

Research has shown that joy has a positive impact on our physical health, including a boost in our immune system, which contributes to our overall physical health. Enjoy your everyday mundane life

tanyafungai