Joyful v. Happy

I do not know about you, but I am getting tired of all this talk about happiness—finding happiness for ourselves…keeping our employees happy…raising happy children…making others happy.

The thought of trying to be happy all the time exhaust me. Joy, on the other hand, is something I can get behind.

To me, joy is a state of being, something you feel in your heart, while happiness is fleeting. Happiness is the elated feeling you get when you open a present to find something you really wanted. It lasts for maybe an hour, a week, or even a month, but it eventually fades away.

Joy, on the other hand, is the constant feeling that no matter where you are, what you are doing, who you are with, or what is happening around you, you know it is OK because this is where you are meant to be—right here in this moment. For me, a person of faith, being joyful is having the love of the Lord in my heart.

With this distinction between happiness and joy, it makes sense to choose joy. Joy is constant.

Joy is also contagious. You know those people who just make you feel better? You know those people who radiate joy? Be that person.

Make an intention today to find joy and keep it. Make the choice today to be a joyful person.