21 WAYS TO ADD MORE JOY TO YOUR LIFE

It is easy to get bogged down with the daily grind. Sometimes it feels like our life is one giant TO DO list, filled with things that we must do. Rather, our lives should be filled with things we want to do that make us happy. Life is meant to be fun!

In order to create a life that brings us joy, we can start by making joy a priority. Is your own happiness a priority to you? If not, make it one. I am not suggesting you quit the job you don't like or refuse to do anything you do not want to do. But, I do recommend you start taking some baby steps.

You may just need to find a balance between those things that have to get done, and the things you do because you choose too. You can start by doing small things each day which make you feel good. Find things that you love and that make you feel happy and set aside time each day to do them. You can also add more joy to your life by just letting go a bit. Relax, let loose, chill out, have fun...

Here are 21 suggestions to add more joy to your life

1. Skip! If you are walking somewhere, break into a skip. Do you know that you can't skip and frown at the same time
2. Get outdoors and connect with nature. Breathe it in. Feel grass on your feet or sand between your toes. Feel the sun on your skin. Run, walk, swim, bike ride
3. Use a journal to write about all the things that you love about life. List the things you love to do, the people you love, write about experiences you have had that you have loved, and the things that make you feel good. Look over these lists and make a comittment to do these things more regularly
4. Put on some music in your room and just dance
5. Laugh and giggle
6. Breathe deep. Take 5 deep breathes and feel the air coming in and out of your mouth or nose. Breathe in life and let it fill you up with its goodness.
7. Get a massage
8. Sing in the shower
9. Smile at strangers on the street
10. Go rollerblading
11. Write a list of all 20 things you are grateful for in your life
12. Play on a children's playground
13. Get creative with colour -wear bright colour, paint with colour, wear bright eyeshadow, buy a colourful ornament, swap your black pen for colourful textas!
14. Spend time with people you love
15. Reconnect with your inner child. What did you like to do when you were young that you don't let yourself do anymore?
16. Buy a gift for someone
17. Watch a movie that makes you cry with laughter
18. Tell someone that you love them
19. Do something that you thought you would never do
20. Eat a mango naked
21. Say thank you

If you don't like my list, create your own. Write a list of things that bring you joy and commit to doing something on that list each day.

As Oscar Wilde once said, "life is too important to be taken seriously"