06/23/2026

Joy can be found in the simplest pleasures, yet we also can create joy for ourselves. Have you given that much thought? Neither had I, and many of us don’t. Think about your daily life.  We face and handle numerous family responsibilities, work deadlines, and volunteer commitments, all which are expected of us.  

“What if joy is not something we need to wait for but something we can practice?” said Allegra Cohen, a global speaker on resilience and confidence, adding, joy can come with small, repeatable moments, rather than big, Instagram gestures.

Think of life like a piano keyboard. Each key represents an emotion that we experience in our lives: sadness, lust, grief, horror, anger, peace, contentment, pride, love, or devotion.  Joy is one of the keys on the emotional keyboard of life, wrote Annie Wright. Additionally, you can learn to embody joy as a somatic experience.

Reflect on your life, what are the moments of joy in your life? What have you discovered about yourself? 

According to writer Spencer Sulkin, many people struggle to find the answer to that question. Still, others would list things off that may not even reflect their own views, rather something that they heard or what they told themselves throughout their lives, added Sulkin.

“Doing what we love helps us feel alive inside,” wrote executive coach and former psychologist Kate Snowise. “Filling our lives up with things that fill-us-up seems so simple, yet it has a big impact on how happy we feel.”

Without internal reflection, it will be a challenge to find clear answers, noted Sulkin.

Snowise suggested asking yourself a few of the following questions:

1. What do you love? Do not censor yourself.
2. What do you enjoy? What do you take delight, pleasure or satisfaction in?
3. What did you do for fun as a kid?
4. What are you curious about? What things would you like to learn more about?
5. What would your dream day look like?

You can start with the following joy boosters:

• Step outside, feel the sun.
• Play a favorite song, move around.
• Send a thought of your text.
• Pause to savor the moment.
• Turn off the news.
• Put your phone aside for five minutes.
• Take an alternative route home. Notice the scenery.

Take a moment for yourself this week to celebrate The National Day of Joy on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. Create a joy practice that will help boost your well-being, suggested Cohen. You do not have to wait for the National Day of Joy. You can start today; you can start this moment.

Robert Louis Stevenson has the best advice, “Find out where joy resides, and give it a voice far beyond singing. For to miss the joy is to miss all.”

Resources:

Image by pch.vector on Magnific. Retrieved on 6/23/2026 from https://www.magnific.com/free-vector/happy-young-couple-having-fun-girl-guy-dancing-party-celebrating-good-news-flat-illustration_11235596.htm

Cohen, Allegra. “Make Room for Joy. “June/July 2026. WomansDay.com

Hess, Sadie. “What Brings You Joy?” 5/17/2022. Retrieved on 6/16/2026 from https://www.compasscares.com/2022/05/what-brings-you-joy/

Sekulin, Spencer. “What Brings You Joy?” Retrieved on 6/16/2026 from https://medium.com/the-art-of-being/what-brings-you-joy-daf2c36502b6

Snowise, Kate. “4 Questions to Identify What Brings You Joy.” https://heretothrive.com/4-questions-to-help-you-identify-the-things-you-love/

Wright, LMFT, Annie. “How Do I Know What Brings Me Joy?” 2/1/2022