DEP BOOK PROJECT — 2

I Have Learned To Find Joy Even In Hard Times

In response to Dancing Elephants Press Prompt 14/52

Just as we know for sure that the sun rises and sets each day and that taxes and death are inevitable, we know there’ll be times in our lives when things don’t go the way we expected. How to find joy when life seems tough?

We get lulled into a sense of peace as we go through life, tackling our routines, and more or less managing our mental, emotional, and physical health. Then out of the blue, there’s a shock that lands right on our laps.

Take the recent pandemic, for example. It has affected the world in unexpected ways and continues to do so. We live in troubled times. During the height of the pandemic, essential supplies were hard to come by as we did our best to follow protocol. As we faced the fear of the unknown, isolation, and sometimes grief and loss, it was easy for us to lose our joy and inch towards depression.

We cannot control what happens outside our door. But we can control ourselves. There are many things we can do to stay positive and even maintain a joyful mindset.

I learned to find joy by focusing on doing the following three basic things to keep myself sane.

1. I surround myself with the right people

“We are the sum total of the five people we surround ourselves with.”

How often have we heard that? It’s ancient wisdom. But it is true you know. When we make sure we have the right people around us, especially when we hit a rough patch, it is easier to find joy.

When life hands us a raw deal, we tend to withdraw into ourselves and build a wall around us. We want to wallow in our misery. We want to be left alone.

This solitude may help, but only for so long. We need to set a time frame to gather our thoughts and allow our cheerleaders to bring us back to our happy place.

I remember not to take so much me time that I am robbed of your joy. I connect with my loved ones who simply won’t allow me to be unhappy.

I must mention here that sometimes, avoiding toxic people can be tough. We must keep negative people out of our lives when we are already struggling to find joy.

2. I remind myself that nothing is permanent

“This too shall pass”

Am I right? Nothing is permanent in life. We live in dynamic situations. So hard times — these too shall pass.

When we are happy, we hardly stop to think that the situation might be temporary.

Yet, keeping this fact of life in mind during the times we feel low can be useful especially when we are trying to find joy. I now believe that whatever we go through, no matter how terrible it might feel it WILL pass.

Looking back, I realize there have been really tough times in my life that managed to settle themselves without much effort on my part. We don’t always have to freak out and do something drastic to make the bad things go away. Often, not doing anything will result in a resolution, too.

Let me give you an example. There was this time during my corporate days when I shared an office with another group company. It did not help that I was the only woman salesperson in the office and was doing very well. I was the regional head of the company I represented. The other group company’s regional head was a narrow-minded guy who tried to make my life difficult at every opportunity. Sometimes he resorted to petty things like hiding my telephone messages, unplugging the fax machine or telephone, or hiding my mail.

I went crazy initially wondering how I was going to manage as I was out on sales calls all day, but I quickly calmed down and carried on with my job as usual. My results spoke for themselves. Eventually, the head of the group visited our office and sorted things out. I received an apology.

Sometimes, Time is the only healer of difficult life situations. Most situations are temporary. Joy is always around the corner, waiting.

3. I know I hold the key to my own happiness

Life will present us with ups and downs. Nothing lasts forever. We would be riding an emotional roller coaster if we let ourselves fly to cloud nine every time something wonderful happened and dove into the abyss when something terrible happened!

It is important to try and be calm, remember that we can control our own reactions, and create sustainable joy on our own. We hold the key to our happiness.

Life is all about uncertainty. All kinds of things will happen. While we have no control over that, we can control how we respond. Our reactions define our lives. We are in charge of how we feel. When we understand that, joy can never be far away.

Thank you for reading! ❤

Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles ❤ Did you smile today?

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