Joy is a powerful and complex emotion. We can experience it without even realizing, especially if it\u2019s bookended by stress and sadness \u2014\u00a0but that\u2019s what makes it even more important to seek out.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople often dismiss the things that bring them joy. They think that they\u2019re inconsequential, that those small moments don\u2019t matter, or that the activities they love are a waste of time when there\u2019s so many important things to take care of,\u201d Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D., health psychologist and author of \u201cJoy Is a Risk Worth Taking,\u201d<\/a> tells TODAY.com.<\/p>\n \u201cKnowing that joy is life-sustaining can be something you can remember when you\u2019re feeling like you don\u2019t have time for the things that bring you joy.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, the mindset that joy isn\u2019t important is so pervasive that you may not even know how to find it in your day-to-day life. McGonigal has a simple exercise to fix that.<\/p>\n Mental Health Tip of the Day: Look for Joy and Document It When You Find It<\/p>\n \u201cThe No. 1 strategy that people can use to get more joy in their life (is) you need to look for joy in the wild,\u201d McGonigal explains. <\/p>\n Look for people who are celebrating something or otherwise excited and join them in it, she says. \u201cWhen you see someone who is expressing joy … consider it an invitation to connect, to let that person know that they matter and that you care about them.\u201d<\/p>\n If you need more specific guidance, McGonigal says she encourages her students to track moments of joy for a period of time, whether that\u2019s a week or entire semester. You can use your phone or write it down in a journal.<\/p>\n Why It Matters<\/p>\n Research shows that joy is critical to overall wellbeing and has even been linked to extended lifespan, McGonigal says.<\/p>\n That\u2019s because experiencing and recognizing a moment of joy \u201cincreases your sense that life has value, that life has meaning and that you matter,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n Another reason is that \u201cmoments of joy bring people closer. When you experience a moment of joy, you feel a greater sense of belonging, a greater sense of acceptance, a greater sense of feeling connected to others,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Together, these two feelings represent two of the greatest human needs, McGonigal adds.<\/p>\n How to Get Started<\/p>\n \u201cTake a photo of something every day that brings you joy, or make a note of it, to start to get a greater sense of what these moments are that you might have been missing or dismissing \u2014 because when you capture them, you\u2019re acknowledging their significance,\u201d McGonigal says. <\/p>\n These moments might be as nondescript as hugging your dog, a conversation with a stranger or calling a friend to celebrate a promotion.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not about tracking them the way that you would track your glucose if you had diabetes,\u201d McGonigal explains.<\/p>\n Instead, it teaches you to trust that there are opportunities to experience joy every day and to retrain your attention away from the bad and toward the good moments you can really appreciate, she says.<\/p>\n