How To Find Joy When It Seems Distant

There are days when joy feels like a distant fellow, or a faraway friend we crave but can’t quite reach. Emotional struggles, stress, or even the weight of simply existing can make it difficult to experience this feeling within ourselves. 

It’s important to know that joy differs from happiness. Happiness is momentary, but joy is enduring. Joy carries you through difficult life situations and gives you hope. 

Happiness may come from hearing good news or seeing something nice, but joy stems from within. It grows from gratitude, self-acceptance and emotional well-being. 

Many people believe joy must be grand or dramatic, but that’s not the case. Joy lives in the tiniest moments and the smallest reasons. Joy brings life into your already weary soul. 

Amidst life’s chaos and turmoil, we may lose our ability to feel this emotion. Stress, grief and comparison drain it out of us, leaving us feeling helpless and empty. 

But joy isn’t gone. It’s patiently waiting to be found differently. It’s not waiting for a celebration or a perfect moment. It’s waiting to be noticed in your daily life, in the quiet activities around you, in the world and in nature. 

How Do You Find Joy When It Goes Missing 

Joy conquers extreme sorrow and emotional turmoil. It gives you hope that carries you through difficult moments. 

Right now, Joy might seem like the last thing you would want to stress over. Things are already hard, and you may feel there’s no way to access that emotion. But in contrast, joy is exactly what you need most. It will keep you going. 

Here are ways to rekindle the once-lost fire:

Cherish the micro-moments

Have you ever randomly remembered a moment with a friend or a family member, maybe they cracked a joke and you laughed so loudly? 

Just remembering that moment can make you smile again. 

Those are the micro moments that bring joy. They’re not grand, and they don’t try too hard. They simply exist. 

Find Joy in Nature. 

Think of the feeling you get when it’s pouring heavily, or the calm after a rainfall. There’s peace, fulfillment and calmness. 

Sitting by a river, enjoying the view of fish swimming and jumping in and out. Moments like this bring inner peace and joy. 

Life may be giving you a hard time, but when you reflect on the beauty of nature and the beautiful moments you shared with others, it becomes a little less heavy. 

Embrace Vulnerability

Often, the emotional walls we build are the reason we don’t feel joy. It hides behind those barriers, waiting for us to break them down. 

When we suppress sadness, fear or disappointment, we also block joy. 

Be vulnerable. 

Let your emotions flow. Allow yourself to feel, journal your emotions, share your thoughts with a trusted person, and cry if you need to. 

Pent-up emotions drain joy. But vulnerability clears emotional clutter and makes room for joy to return. 

Practice Gratitude

One of the kindest things you can do for yourself is to be grateful for every moment. Gratitude is the doorway to joy. It shifts your focus from lack to abundance.

If you find it hard to practice gratitude, start here:

• Write down three things you’re grateful for, no matter how small, even if it’s being able to wake up every day. 

• When something good happens to you, write it down. 

These are little ways to build an abundance mindset and invite joy back into your life. 

In everything you do, try your best to nurture that inner joy. It will guide you through life and help you find light in the darkest and most difficult moments.