3 Easy Ways to Tap into Your Joyful Heart

Your heart on Joy

3 Easy Ways to Tap into Your Joyful Heart

Are you ready to tap into your joyful heart?

In Traditional Chinese Medicine says that your heart holds the emotion of Joy. It also holds the emotion of sadness. It isn’t unusual for us to get caught in the sadness and allow it to hide the joy which is our birth right.

Yep, Joy is your birthright. You were made to live in Joy, to enjoy.

The problem is that our lives become filled with the mundane things of life. We’re so busy juggling tasks and responsibilities that we don’t make time to do what brings us happiness. We don’t take the time to en-Joy what is around us.

Did you know that not having joy in your daily life has been known to lead to unhappiness?

In fact, a lack of joy in your daily life can have long term negative consequences to your health.

Consider the symbolism of a hurting heart. A physically hurting heart can lead to cardio-vascular problems including heart attacks, high blood pressure, heart murmurs and more.

One of the best ways to prevent physical heart problems is to have a life filled with joy. There is medical research to back this up.

Several well-known studies have found that positive emotions, including joy, have a profound positive effect on your health. One such study entitled “Positive Emotion and Health: Going Beyond the Negative,” was published in the July 2005 issue of Health Psychology. This research study found:

Having joy and optimism provided a 51% reduction in the rates of heart disease among men who were followed for 10 years during the study.

Although women weren’t studied, you can be sure positive emotions such as joy and hope would reduce our incidence of heart disease as well. Those emotions also protected the individuals from high blood pressure, diabetes, and upper respiratory infections.

Pretty cool, don’t you think?

No pills neededNo medication needed. Simply add joy, delight, and hope and move about your life.

Let’s talk about three easy ways to notice where Joy is hiding in your life.

How to do it!

I’d like you to choose one of the three methods below and DO IT today. They’re simple. You just need to be aware.

  1. Take time to appreciate and delve in activities that delight you.You know that energy lag in the middle of the day? The one where you get coffee or something sweet? Yes, that one.

Try this instead. (You can easily do this at work.) Bring to mind something you enjoy. It could even be something you haven’t done in a while. Close your eyes and imagine yourself doing it. If it’s hiking, immerse yourself in your last hike. Feel the ground beneath your feet. Feel those feelings of joy, delight and contentment.

If you enjoy making things, imagine yourself in every step of putting together something.

Whenever you feel your energy beginning to dwindle during the day, take a break and focus on something that brings you pleasure.

Be sure and schedule a time for you to physically do what you’re imagining.

  • Give yourself permission to have little “joy breaks” throughout your day. Focus on family, friends, a favorite memory. These will instantly lift your mood, as well as reduce stress and recharge your energy.
  • Simple things like savoring a cup of your favorite tea (I’m a tea person) or coffee, or reconnecting with an old friend have the ability to bring you joy.
  • Take time each day to focus on those simple activities that make you feel happier. You will benefit greatly and so will your heart.
  1. Be Joyful!Count your blessings. When things get tough and you feel overwhelmed, take 60 seconds and list as many blessings as you can think of. Focusing on the people, things and activities in your life which are going in a positive direction. Allow your heart to fill with appreciation.
  • Feeling and expressing gratitude are very powerful. When you take time to reflect on better times in the past, what’s going well now, you can instantly lift your mood. This gives you the strength to keep working towards your goals.
  • Consider keeping a “blessings journal.” When life gets so difficult you can’t think of one thing to be thankful for, pull out your blessings journal and read it. This will help lift you up and encourage you during the difficult times.
  1. Change things up and do something new. The same ol’ routine can make life dull and unexciting. Why not try something completely different to rediscover your joy?
  • Your imagination is the only limit. You can explore a new route to and from work, do that one thing you’ve always said, “I need to…” Try a new recipe. Change your daily routine where possible.
  • Consider learning a new skill or hobby. If you don’t have a hobby in mind, try something you wanted to do as a child or before life got so busy. Did you dream of traveling to a faraway country in the past? Go online and explore places you’d like to visit. Consider taking classes to learn that country’s language and then plan a trip.

They key is to make time for laughter and fun throughout your day.

You will you rediscover your joy, strengthen your health, and increase your own happiness. You’ll also discover an increase in energy and you’ll be happier.

Your positive outlook will have a positive effect upon others around you. Your increased joy might lead to increasing their level of joy, too… and we know the world certainly needs more of that!

To heal those wounds which limit your joy, get the 5-Step Soul Healing Prayer.

The Trait of the 95% of the Population Who Fails

The Trait of the 95% of the Population Who Fails

Napoleon Hill, in “The Law of Success,” states that the population in the United States fails at the endeavors of life. Not that you need assistance in subtracting, but that means that only 5% of the population succeeds. Now this was in the early 20th Century, but I fear the percentages are no better now in the early 21st Century. What is lacking in individuals that results in 95% of the people being unhappy, as unhappiness is the result of failure? Do you know?

According to Napoleon Hill, the primary reason people fail is that they have no definite purpose to their lives. What is known as existential psychology would say that people do not have meaning in their lives. If you have no definite purpose you are like a sailing vessel roaming the vastness of the ocean without a rudder. You use your vast store of energy only to move in circles.

Once you establish your definite purpose in life, you now know your direction in life. You have a destination in life that acts as a beacon guiding you on your way. You need three additional items in addition to your definite purpose to move you towards success.

Definite Plans will take you from point “A” to point “B.” If you decide to go on a journey you need more than a rough idea of where you are going. For example, traveling from Houston, Texas to Omaha, Nebraska by car is pretty much due North. The problem is that going due North will not get you to your destination the easiest and most efficient way. You need a definite plan, also known as a roadmap, to get you where you want to go.

Power, according to Napoleon Hill, involves gathering together a group of people who have the knowledge, wisdom and skill to assist you in getting to your destination. Having access to these accomplished people is only a small part of the equation. You have to utilize what they know and act upon it. Having people available is only potential power unless you ignite it with your action.

Proficiency in the skills are needed for what you have chosen to do. You can have all the knowledge in the world at your fingertips, which you do through libraries and the internet, but if you do not learn those skills and then practice them, they are useless to you. There are many people who believe they are an expert because they have read a book or received a college degree. It is only when you have mastered the information you have learned through action that you can achieve your definite purpose.

Today, it seems that most people want to achieve the status of great wealth or accomplishment without having to go through the necessary learning process. Book learning is not enough. You have to train your mind and your body in how to implement what you have learned. Consider this question, would you fly solo in a jet after having only read all the books available on how to take off, fly and land a jet? You might be willing to take the controls when someone else has you in the air, but wouldn’t you give them back when it came time to land? If you don’t, you have a very slim chance of making it through your flight alive.

This is true with your definite purpose. Learn the necessary knowledge, gather your support team and then put your plan in action after you practice or have worked with a mentor.

Collaborating with the Dead in a Writing Project

Collaborating with the Dead in a Writing Project




Back to my collaboration with Napoleon Hill and Think and Grow Rich


