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Between the negativity in the world, the doom scrolling, eclipse season, natural disasters, and the general weight of existing in 2025, it can feel like a full-time job just trying to stay positive. If you've been struggling to find joy lately, you're not alone—and you're not broken.
Sometimes joy isn't about finding it at all. Sometimes it's about creating the conditions where it can naturally arise.
The Small Things That Make Space for Joy
Joy isn't always the big, Instagram-worthy moments. More often, it's found in the small, consistent practices that remind us what it feels like to be alive and present.
Morning Light Step outside within the first hour of waking, even if it's cloudy. Natural light helps regulate your circadian rhythm, which directly impacts mood and energy. It's also a gentle reminder that each day is a fresh start.
The 5-Minute Rule: Do something purely for pleasure for just five minutes a day. Read fiction. Listen to music. Pet your dog. Watch birds. The key is doing it without multitasking or trying to be productive.
Texture and Temperature: Pay attention to physical sensations that feel good: warm tea in your hands, soft fabric against your skin, cool air on your face. These sensory moments anchor you in the present and remind your nervous system that you're safe.
Movement That Feels Good: Not exercise, movement. Dance to one song. Stretch on your floor. Walk around your block. Bouncing on a trampoline. Move in ways that feel like play rather than obligation.
Gratitude for the Micro-Moments: Instead of forcing gratitude for big things, notice tiny moments: the taste of your first sip of coffee, a text from a friend, finding a good parking spot. Small appreciations compound.
Nourishing Joy from the Inside Out
Then there’s nutrition - what you put in your body directly affects your capacity for joy. When your blood sugar crashes, when inflammation is high, when your gut is struggling, joy becomes much harder to access.
This isn't about perfection or strict rules. It's about giving your body the steady nutrition it needs to support stable mood and sustained energy. Sometimes the most joyful thing you can do is make yourself a nourishing meal or drink that tastes good and makes you feel good.
Permission to Feel Human
Here's something important: you don't have to be joyful all the time. You don't have to optimize your way out of difficult emotions or pretend everything is fine when it's not.
Joy isn't a permanent state, it's a practice. It's the willingness to remain open to beauty and connection even when things are hard. It's choosing presence over numbing, curiosity over judgment, and self-compassion over self-criticism.
The Practice
Start with one thing from this list. Just one. Do it consistently for a week and notice what shifts. Joy often arrives quietly, in moments when we're not trying so hard to find it.
The world needs your joy. Not because you have to earn your place here, but because your aliveness matters. Your presence matters. The way you show up matters.
And sometimes, showing up joyfully is as simple as stepping outside, taking a deep breath, and remembering that you're here, you're alive, and that itself is worth celebrating.