Habits of Joy

Attitude, contentment & joy are a choice. Did you know that habits can help you achieve joy? Do you like where you are at in life? How do you change what you don’t like? Self awareness is key.

Begin with determining and eliminating bad habits...

1. Negative thoughts

2. Limiting beliefs

3. Misleading concepts

Here 5 habits that can help you choose Joy:

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1st Habit of Joy : Nourish a Positive Self Image

Self image isn’t about viewing yourself above others, it’s about viewing yourself as worthy of others and of your own respect. We all have things, that we don’t like about ourselves. Things that cause us to be self critical. Sometimes these things are physical attributes, like our ears, our skin or our weight. Other times it’s out of fear of embarrassment or failure. Our self image is almost always determined by comparing ourselves to others. So stop! They are human and have weaknesses too.

Make a habit of speaking to yourself positively. Every time you have a negative thought, make a conscious choice to change it to a positive one. Negative thoughts aren’t going to just go away because you changed your mind once, twice or even three times. You must heighten your awareness and create a positive thought habit to replace your negative thought pattern. It’s up to you to either diminish yourself through negative thoughts or motivate yourself thought positive ones.

2nd Habit of Joy : Plan for Success

True success doesn’t just happen. There are few people that become successful by accident and manage stay that way. Accomplishing your dreams and goals takes thought. It takes planning. It takes diligence. Ever think you knew where you are headed and then were derailed before you achieved the success you were aiming for? We’ve all been there.

Success is a very personal thing, it means something different to us all. Inherently, we all have the need to feel like we have accomplished things, but how do we get there? You are successful when you decide to play to win and you determine that you are going to come out a victor, no matter the outcome. Success comes in many forms, whether through achieving your goals or the lessons you learn through the process.

Predetermine that you will succeed before you begin. One sure fire way to make a mark along the way is to spend enough time planning and researching. This way when you face challenges, instead of being distracted or discouraged, you can redirect your course confidently. Be careful, however, that you don’t get so focused on the planning that you never get to taking action! Face your challenge head on and things will fall into place as they should through the process.

3rd Habit of Joy : Goodbye Commitment Issues

Most of us fall into one of two categories, the over-committer or the under-committer. If you are an over-committer, you tend to have a tough time saying no. Because of this you often overestimate your ability to fulfill your commitments. If you an under-committer, you probably have fear of wasting your time. You most likely don’t want use your effort on things that you feel a lack the motivation to complete. Neither over-committing or under-committing create habits of joy. It can be hard to understand that your worth isn’t based on what you to or don’t do. You can’t control others options of you. You don’t have that much power. Instead, establish an appropriate level of commitment for yourself. Make sure that you can comfortably complete what you have committed to while still being able to enjoy life! This way you won’t let yourself or others down. Commitment boundaries will help reduce unnecessary stress and boost your mood and your happiness.

Remember : You don't owe others an explanation just because you say no!

4th Habit of Joy: Stop Quitting on Yourself

Leave your ego at the door. He’s a tricky kinda guy. His game is simple... deception by perception. Your ego is how you perceive yourself. This can obviously go either way (positively or negativity), but let’s be honest, this is a fluctuating thing for most of us. Good days we feel good about ourselves. Bad days are defined by insecurity. They both come down to our feelings... about ourselves.

Our ego tends to get in the way when we are trying to accomplish things. It either tells us that we can succeed or it stops us in our tracks before we even begin. Luckily our worth isn’t based on our perception of ourselves! Could you imagine? 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬! Fight the urge to give up or not even try. 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 before you even begin to get traction! It won’t be easy, but once you become diligent your ego should be in the right place. This is where you will find the most success!

5th Habit of Joy : Dream Big

We all have dreams. They come from our experiences, our desires and even our feelings. 𝗪𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭? 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬?

Dreams don’t become reality until we take action. They form little by little until they take shape and become recognizable. It’s great to set obtainable goals, like ones we think we can handle on our own, but setting larger goals will require more trust in God.

More Faith = Bigger Heart + Larger Reward

Doing things on our own and for ourselves can only go so far. 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞! Even when it feel like nothing is working out. Like you’ve done all you can do and you still aren’t winning. This is when giving it all to God will make the biggest impact. Dream big and let God show you what He can do!

Creating Habits of Joy

Joy is being happy and content in all circumstances, with ourselves and others. It is recognizing that despite things not going our way, it truly is our choice how we interpret situations and ideas, how we react to them, and how we distribute them.

There are times in all of our lives that feel as though we are stuck. Sometimes we are stuck emotionally, physically, financially, or spiritually. In those moments, do dot forget that you are the only thing holding you there.

Others may seem to have an effect on this, but in reality it has to be you that makes the change. Try as you will, but more often then not, you cannot change the situation, but you can choose how the situation changes you. You were created with a purpose, the sooner you are willing to let the walls come down and stop trying to manage things that are not manageable, no matter how much effort that you put into them, the sooner you will find the joy you've been seeking all along.

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