Joy is not happiness. You can have happiness without joy; you can have joy without happiness; above all, you can have joy and be happy.
Money can buy happiness, but money cannot buy joy. Joy is within; happiness is without. Joy is an untouchable thing that comes from inside you, a deep feeling your heart truly longs for.
The mind and brain are searching for something they don’t even have a name for—a profound sense of peace, the feeling of “if only I just have this, I won’t need anything else.”
Happiness, on the other hand, comes from touchable things you possess. We often think buying the newest phone, having a certain amount of money, or getting that big promotion will finally bring us that ultimate sense of arrival.
We will be happy with these things, but our joy will not be full. Because the moment we get what we thought would satisfy us forever, we find ourselves wanting more. Happiness relies on external things, but true joy is cultivated within ourselves.
Think deeply, what are you longing to have? Is it joy, or happiness?
No one can teach you how to be happy, but you can find happiness by being content with what you have. Appreciate what you already have and give thanks. Whatever you have today, you once prayed for, and you received it while others still wish for it.
Accept the fact that to some, one talent was given; to some five, and to some ten. Life is not just about wanting more; it is about taking the talents you were given and multiplying them by putting them to work.
To have joy, name what you already have. Count your blessings. Don’t sin against yourself. Love yourself, know yourself, and live consciously. Appreciate the simple miracle of waking up. Appreciate the mind that allows you to think, and the hands that allow you to build.
Be productive. Produce something that benefits others—something you can complete in a few hours and repeat daily. Write about something helpful that you have been keeping to yourself. Knit a handkerchief and gift it. Buy a flowerpot and nurture it. Create a video tutorial for just one person and publish it. Own something you can call yours.
You can have joy by genuinely doing what you love without monetizing it. Happiness might come from sharing these things with others, but true joy is found simply in being faithful to your gifts.
Happiness comes with a price, but true joy is priceless. It is found within ourselves, and no one can take it from you.
Shalom Shalom.
I have a task that may induce joy if that of interest (affective science)