I learned to create my own joy when I was a single mom. Life was hard, there was rarely enough money and I felt like I spent my days putting out fires. I learned during these times that I could be happy in spite of all the difficulties in my life. When life feels overwhelming—when the bills pile up, your heart feels heavy, and the future looks uncertain—finding joy can feel like a distant dream. But what if joy isn’t something you wait for? What if it’s something you cultivate, even in the middle of the hard?

Today I’m sharing 5 powerful, soul-nourishing ways to find joy in hard times—and a few of my favorite books and tools that help me stay grounded and hopeful, even on the toughest days.

Gratitude

I know…I know…”be thankful” sounds like one of the most cliche and overused pieces of advice out there, but gratitude truly changes your life. But from a scientific and physical standpoint, gratitude is one of the most effective ways to create joy. When you feel grateful, your brain releases neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin, which are associated with pleasure, reward, and well-being. When you choose to be thankful you create a positive feed back loop that teaches your brain to look for more things to be thankful for. There is always something to be thankful for. When you find yourself complaining, stop and either write or say out loud 3-5 things that you are thankful for. What you focus on grows and joy often begins where you focus your attention.

➡️ Tool I love: The Five Minute Journal-A Daily Gratitude Journal for Happiness, Mindfulness and Reflection… https://amzn.to/3Gz0trl

Start and End Your Day with Stillness

You can do anything for 5 minutes, but my hope for you is that you learn (if you don’t already know) how to enjoy the quiet. I wake up at least an hour before anyone else in my household so that I can read, journal, pray and be alone with my thoughts and with God. Believe it or not, there is also a scientific reason to be still. The benefits of stillness are, stress reduction, improved focus and clarity, better sleep, increased creativity and intuition and emotional processing to name a few. We were not meant for all of this constant noise.

“And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.”

-John Muir

You can download my FREE Midyear Reflection Journal Prompts here: https://hshaygood.me/shop/6a297be3-4437-4e26-af26-cfefc73e2788

Prioritize Self-Care

Go talk a walk in the early morning sunshine or join a new excersize class, learn to paint, make meals that you love, eat healthy food, because health is wealth. Whatever you do, schedule it so that you know it is a priority. When you take care of yourself, you feel better.

My favorite planner: https://amzn.to/4ktiepQ

Guard What You Allow To Enter Your Mind

What you allow to enter your mind matters, but even moreso when everything around you feels hard. Swap your news overload and toxic scrolling for a nourishinig podcast, audiobook, devotional or book. Every day we are being influenced by our environment. We need to consciously choose what we allow to influence our thoughts and emotions. John Alston, “If you don’t control your mind, someone else will.”

“Stand guard at the door of your mind.”

-Dr. Paul Bizjack

Embrace Change and Growth

We have two choices when we encounter hardship; we can allow ourselves to become the victim, or we can learn from the difficulties in our life. Obviously there are tragedies that require a different approach, but for most hardships we encounter daily we are given the opportunity to learn from it and gain wisdom, fortitude and the ability to be happy in all circumstances.

I can remember driving to the doctor’s office with my kids and hearing this loud sound, then suddenly sparks were flying from under my car. I frantically steared towards the side of the road and jumped out. The metal frame under my car had fallen off and popped all four of my brand new tires. Now, as a single mom this was devastating because I didn’t have money for four new tires. I was so angry and I started to cry, but I decided in that moment that I wasn’t going to let anything else steal my joy or another moment of my life. I was going to stay the path. Things worked out…actually better than I could have possibly imagined.

In summary, remember that these days of hardship are not your whole story. Your story is a whole book waiting to be written. Hard seasons don’t cancel your joy, but teach you to create it.

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