12/29/2025
How Do You Feel? Part 23: Joyful ☸️😄
“The real source of inner joy is to remain truthful and be honest.”- Dalai Lama
In a holiday season that emphasizes the feeling of joy, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on what the feeling of joy really means.
Joy often shows up when we’re fully present, and when we feel safe enough to let our guard down, or when we are doing something aligned with our true selves.
What can make joy difficult is when we have anticipatory anxiety, like when we’re waiting for the other shoe to drop or focus on the fact that the feeling is fleeting. What happens over time is that we may learn to dismiss or minimize the feeling of joy as a form of self-protection.
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Swipe through to learn more about:
◽ What it means to feel joyful
◽ Synonyms to describe being joyful
◽ Common thoughts that may indicate you’re feeling joyful
◽ How to spot joy in ourselves and others
◽ Healthy outlets for joy
Learning to recognize and trust the feeling of joy helps us reshape our relationship with positive emotions. The more we find moments of joy in our everyday experiences and allow ourselves to embrace the feeling, the easier it will become for our mind and body to feel safe in experiencing joy.
What’s something that has brought you joy recently? Take a moment to reflect.