Let’s be honest with ourselves: joy can be a little hard to find.
I’ll be honest with myself: other people who are truly joyful seem pretty hard to find, too. Maybe it’s my algorithm. Maybe it’s my circle of friends and acquaintances. Or, maybe, a little cynicism creeps in and discounts what others experience as joy.
The path to finding joy, I think, is to not overthink. This is unfortunate, because overthinking is my superpower.
Let me explain my thought process: take ten seconds – heck, take five – and do the simplest thing that crosses your path. Pet a dog. Wave at a baby in a stroller. Let that car you tied with arriving at the stop sign go first. Literally smell a flower (avoid the corpse flower, if in bloom). Make a rock totem outside a random office building.
Don’t think about it, simply follow your impulse to something that makes you smile, inwardly and outwardly.
The shortest pathway to joy is following baby steps.
Bingo Fitzpatrick 