5 Secrets to Living a Life Full of Joy.

 
Don’t Take Others’ Behavior Personally
Once you define your intrinsic worth, it becomes much easier to not take others’ behavior personally. When you know and value who you are intrinsically, then you accept that others’ unloving behavior is about them rather than about you.
Stay Present In Your Body
When you live in your head rather than in your body, you are thinking rather than experiencing. You are missing the moment, which is where joy is. Staying in your head, thinking about the past or future, is a form of control that most of us learned as we were growing up to protect against pain. But pain and joy live in the same place in the heart, so when we avoid the pain of life, we also avoid the joy of life. Rather than avoiding pain through staying in your head and through various addictions, why not learn how to manage the pain of life through developing your spiritual connection? Then you can stay present in your body, experiencing the beauty, joy and wonder of the present moment.
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 Intent To Learn/Love Rather Than Intent To Protect/Control
Our intent is what governs how we feel and behave. When our intent is to protect against pain with some form of controlling behavior—trying to control our feelings, others and outcomes—we end up abandoning ourselves and may feel anxious, depressed, empty, alone, guilty and/or shamed. When our intent is to learn about loving ourselves and sharing our love with others, our heart opens and we receive the joy that is an aspect of Spirit.
 Higher-Self Dominion
When we give dominion to our mind to govern our thoughts and actions, we will likely feel badly rather than joyful. The mind has been programmed with many false beliefs that can cause us much pain. When we open to learning with our spiritual guidance and give our higher-self dominion over our thoughts, choices and actions, we operate from truth. The truth truly does set us free!
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Gratitude
Finally, when we focus on what we do have rather than complaining about what we don’t have, and when we choose gratitude throughout the day for all the small and beautiful things about life, our heart opens to the experience of joy.
While this might seem daunting, just start with practicing number one—self-compassion rather than self-judgment. As you get better and better at this, you will find the other choices much easier to do.
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