Pursuing Happiness: 4 Steps to a More Joyful Life

If you asked anyone if they wanted more happiness in their life, they would almost certainly say "Yes!" It's a fair thing to want. However, many of us are missing that sweet emotion in our lives COMPLETELY.

A recent survey stated:
*  "45% of people say they haven’t felt happy in over TWO YEARS!"

Wow. That's almost HALF of everyone on this Earth! Maybe you're in that boat right now... or maybe you feel happy, but something's missing....

What if there's a better, longer-lasting emotion we should be chasing instead?

Our latest conversation dives into why happiness might just be the wrong goal, with a staggering number of people missing out on true joy for years on end. We'll discuss intimate stories and insights on how shifting our focus from happiness to JOY—a deeper, more intrinsic state—can transform our lives. We'll dissect the concept of joy, that inner sparkle that doesn't wane with the ups and downs of daily life, and discuss how embracing it can lead us to a more serene and purposeful existence.

Witness the transformative power of a smile and the profound impact of gratitude in this heartwarming exploration. Throughout the episode, I take you on a journey through the simple, yet potent acts of smiling and expressing gratitude, and how they can release a cascade of positive emotions within us.

We'll also confront the common culprits of fear and worry, learning how to cast them aside to make room for a joy-filled life. By the end of our time together, you'll be equipped with the tools to not only find joy in the ordinary, but also to spread it to those you encounter day by day.

Thanks for tuning in.

May God bless you,
Eric


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*Survey: 

Global Report: 45% of People Have Not Felt True Happiness for More Than Two Years

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-report-45-of-people-have-not-felt-true-happiness-for-more-than-two-years-301568258.html

Chapters

• 0:01 Choosing Joy Over Happiness
• 7:47 Bringing Joy Through Smiling and Gratitude

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

This is the Dream Chasers show. Welcome back to the show, everybody. My name is Eric and you're here with the Dream Chasers, where our mission is to inspire and improve the lives of those who are daring to chase their dreams. Now I came across this survey that I want to share with you guys real quickly and because I thought the results were pretty shocking. Did you know that 45% of people state they haven't felt true happiness in more than two years? 45%, that's almost half. So when you look around your job or your friend circle, almost half haven't felt true happiness in more than two years. 25% state they don't even know or forgotten what it's like to be happy. One quarter of people. That's a big deal. And maybe that's you, maybe you're in that boat right now, or maybe you do feel happy, but you feel like something's missing. Today I want to talk to you about a different emotion instead of happiness, a better one that I think you should be chasing over happiness, and that's joy. Now, I know they sound very similar, but stay with me here, because there is a big, big difference between joy and happiness. So let's talk about happiness.

Speaker 1: 1:27

Happiness comes and goes. It's fleeting. For instance, have you ever wanted one thing that you want it so bad because you know it will make you happy. We've all been there. This is usually where that phrase money can't buy you happiness comes in, which is a cute phrase and it's great to say, but honestly I think we just say that to ourselves because it makes us feel better about not having any. And here's kind of what I've noticed Money can buy you happiness to a degree, whenever you get that one thing that you wanted so bad.

Speaker 1: 2:04

When you finally finally get it, how do you feel? Fellas, you've been there. It's that new truck or that new car that you finally got Damn, you're looking good in that thing. That new watch, that new outfit, new hunting gear and, ladies, how about those new shoes? You finally bought that dress that you look so great in the purse you've been saving up for All of those things.

Speaker 1: 2:31

When we finally get those things, we are happier for a little while. If we're just being honest, money can buy you happiness to some extent. But the thing about happiness is that it's very temporary and it's very conditional. It's conditional. We tell ourselves when I get this thing, I'll be happy. When I get that promotion at work, I'll be happy Once I finally have this much money in my bank account, I will be happy. But what happens after we finally get those things? We're happy for a moment, for a while, but eventually it wears off and sometimes that thing that used to make us happy is now making us miserable. For those of you that own a house, you know what I'm talking about. Things break down and all of a sudden this house that we wanted so bad becomes a huge nightmare. Or maybe you got that video game console that you thought would make you happy and it did For a while, but now it's making you miserable because you can't peel yourself away from it. I mean, the list goes on and on.

Speaker 1: 3:43

Another thing we all need to understand is that we're not supposed to always be happy. We're not. We have an entire array of emotions. We're supposed to experience other emotions, not just happiness. You know that saying you can't enjoy the sunshine without the rain. It's so true, right? You can't really appreciate a good car until you've had a crappy one. It's really hard to understand the full beauty of having love or friendship until you've had a bad relationship and somebody stabbed you in the back, or maybe you've lost a loved one. Your wins and your successes are always sweeter and always more fulfilling after you've failed and lost, sometimes many times.

Speaker 1: 4:35

Life is designed this way on purpose, and I know this is easier said than to just do and take it. We're supposed to experience the bad with the good. Having all these other feelings are what make us human. Those negative feelings of sadness, of sorrow, anxiety, worry, doubt, fear, anger. Those are very, very real and they suck when you're going through them. Now, remember this too shall pass, and when the rain finally stops falling and the sun comes out on your life, then those good moments of love, romance, faith, excitement, joy, bliss, peace we should and will experience all of those as well. So let's talk about something that can literally change your life right now if you grasp it fully. Instead of chasing happiness. I challenge you to chase and pursue joy. Instead of chasing happiness, because we know it's fleeting. Chase joy. Now again, I know joy and happiness might sound similar, but they're entirely different. Joy is internal and it's eternal. It's internal and it's eternal.

Speaker 1: 6:05

Joy is part of our character, it's engraved into our personality, it's who you are. We all know that one guy or gal in our life that makes us feel so good whenever we're around them. Right, I can almost guarantee there's someone at either your work or a friend that you have. Maybe it's a parent, maybe it's your kids, I'm not sure who it is, but someone in your life. When you're around them, they make you feel so good. And what's one quality that they all have in common, those people they're joyous, they smile, they brighten up our day when we're around them, they always know what to say to make us laugh or smile, and that person can usually always find the positive in any situation. You ever notice that Things could happen to them, but they're just positive and upbeat about it. We all know somebody like that. You see, the joy I'm talking about is not dictated by the external circumstances of our lives. No, joy is a state of mind. In fact, joy is so powerful that it expresses itself physically. You can see it on people's faces.

Speaker 1: 7:21

I want to tell you a little something that I do, and it might sound creepy, so hold the judgment. Whenever I go to a store, I go to Walmart. Sometimes I'll go shopping or whatever, but whenever I go to a store, a lot of times I'll sit in the parking lot for a few minutes and watch as people walk by, people watching. I'm just sitting in my car chilling, probably a little creepy Maybe you've seen me do this.

Speaker 1: 7:47

I like to look at and watch people as they walk by, and one thing I've been noticing more recently, as I've been kind of processing joy and happiness and all these emotions when I'm watching people, I look at these expressions on their faces, I look at how they're walking, I look at how they carry themselves. Are they going fast, non-emission, or are they aimless and slow-moving? How's their posture? And I'm saddened to report this, but you know what I see the most of? I see a lot of hanging heads, people hunching over, slouching. I see them kind of. They just kind of look defeated. Rarely, ever do I see somebody walking around with their shoulders back and a smile on their face, and I'd barely ever, ever, ever see someone saying hi to another person who passes by. I see a lot of the hanging heads. Some people are angry, some are irritated or in a hurry, and the saddest of all the ones that I see are the ones who look hollow and defeated.

Speaker 1: 9:00

I see these things all the time and whenever I see it, I just want to go up to them and say, hey, pick your head up, walk taller. You're worthy, you're capable. Stop worrying so much, stop worrying about the future, stop worrying what other people think about you, stop doubting yourself. I just want to put a smile back on their face, mainly because I've been there. I know what it's like and I've also experienced joy and all these other great emotions that I've talked to you about. But I want to bring them back up because I think sometimes we get permanently stuck in that emotion, right In that darkness that we're surrounded by. Sometimes in life we get permanently stuck and people can see it on our faces. I just want to put a smile back on their face. In fact, I want you to do something with me right now. Yes, you person that's listening to this do this with me.

Speaker 1: 10:05

Take a deep breath and smile. Do it right now. Take a deep breath and smile, smile big and wide. If there's people around you right now, make sure that you're not staring them in the face, because I don't want you to look like some sort of psychopath smiling at everybody. But if you're driving in your car or you're out on a walk, just take a deep breath and smile. Don't you feel better already? Just that simple act of smiling? You see, studies have proven that smiling immediately releases endorphins, serotonin and other chemicals in the brain that instantly instantly help us feel more joy and relax more.

Speaker 1: 10:56

One way to increase your joy today, right now, is by smiling more. Just smiling more. It's so simple. My hope is that you're already feeling better from doing that. I know I do. Whenever I do something I've been trying to make a habit of mine is smiling more. I challenge you to do that. Make smiling a habit, just like any habit. It's going to take some time and some conscious effort on your part. You're going to have to repeat it every day and eventually make it a habit. It might be hard because maybe you haven't smiled in so long. Maybe it even feels fake. You're like yeah, okay, yeah, I'll smile more. Oh, yeah, okay. Maybe it just doesn't feel right, but it will come with time.

Speaker 1: 11:45

The physical act of smiling is going to bring so much more joy in your life. Remind yourself to smile at other people when you're walking by them. Smile in the car. Smile when you look at the mirror and you see yourself, instead of looking at the mirror and seeing all this person you don't like, or this person you've become, or this person carrying weight that you don't like, or the bags in your eye. Whatever it is that you're seeing in the mirror that you don't like about yourself, remember, when you're looking in the mirror, into your eyes, smile at yourself. Love yourself. When you walk in the door at work or at home, smile. Smile with your eyes too, not just with your mouth. Show the world the light that you have inside of you. Smile.

Speaker 1: 12:36

Another way to get more joy into our lives is to feel gratitude, being grateful. Be grateful for the things that you already have. You know, far too often we think about the things that we don't have, that we want. Right, it's a happiness. Again, I'll be happy when. But you'll get more joy in your life when you begin to feel grateful for the things that you already have A bed to sleep in. Maybe it's just that you have food in the fridge, you got healthy kids, a running vehicle. Even if it's just that you're grateful you've got air in your lungs and the fact that God gave you another day on this earth, look for things to be grateful for and watch how many more things that will come into your life that you can be grateful for. I do this and I'm always astounded. The more I'm grateful, the more I find things to be grateful for, and it will work for you too. It will absolutely work for you. And before I leave and let you go, the last thing I want to talk to you about is what I believe is the number one joy stealer in our lives. This thing steals our joy more than anything else Anything Fear and worries.

Speaker 1: 14:00

Fear and worries about the future or the past you wish you could change. Maybe you're not really sure where your next meal is going to come from, or how are you going to pay the bills. Maybe you're just scared about something that's coming up in the future that you don't want to deal with. When we have fear and worries, it's impossible to have joy in our heart. It's impossible. Joy can't be around when there's fear and worry and doubt. The thing is, we're not supposed to know what's going to happen tomorrow. We're not supposed to be able to change the past. We're not supposed to know what's going to happen even five minutes from now. We're not supposed to know what's going to happen tomorrow, the next month or a year from now. Only God knows that, and he wants us to live with faith.

Speaker 1: 14:56

I think of it like this when you're going on a road trip do you see the entire road ahead of you? Do you see all the curves, the bumps, the detours, the potholes, the traffic jams, the expensive gas, the stormy weather Right there in front of you? Can you see all of that before you drive from one state to another to go visit your family or go on a vacation? No, of course not. You can only see what's right ahead of you. What's right ahead of you, what do you do? You keep driving and the next curve in the road reveals itself right out in front of you. You see a hill. You keep driving. You crest the hill and more road reveals itself in the horizon. Right. You keep driving, one hill, one turn at a time.

Speaker 1: 15:47

Our life is a lot like that. We can't see tomorrow. We also can't see our past. We have memories of the past, of course, but you know what One thing about memories is?

Speaker 1: 16:04

They're always flawed because of our emotions about the past. This happens to me all the time, where I think I've got this memory or this story in my head and when I tell it, my wife looks at me and is like that's not how it happened. Oh really, how did it happen. Then she'll tell me how it happens and I'm like no, that's not how it happened. You know, our memories are flawed because of how we feel. They're based on emotion and the only thing that we can see is what's here and now in front of us today, today.

Speaker 1: 16:42

Look today in the face and embrace it. Handle the objects and obstacles in front of you right now and don't worry about what's next week, next month or next year. Now, I'm not saying you can't plan ahead. You should plan, you should have a plan, but you shouldn't sit here and worry about it and have anxieties about it. Handle the objects and the obstacles and the things going on in front of you right now, today, and don't let the worries of the future take away your joy. You're blessed with this day to live and if you're blessed enough to have another day on this earth, be grateful and make the most of it. Keep driving and the next curve in the road will reveal itself. Now I know we talked about a lot, so I'm going to summarize this before we wrap it up.

Speaker 1: 17:39

Number one pursue joy. Pursue joy. Not happiness, but joy. Remember there is a difference. Number two smile more. Show the world that light that you've gotten inside of. You Know when you're at home, when you're at work, when you see other people, even if you don't know them. Just don't smile like a psychopath, right? Nobody wants that. That's weird. Smile at yourself in the mirror. Make smiling a habit. Number three be grateful. Have gratitude for the things that you already have, the people already in your life, and watch as more things and more people will show up for you to be grateful for. Number four stop worrying. You cannot change the past. I can't change my past, and the future isn't guaranteed for any of us. Hey guys, thanks so much for tuning in. I really appreciate your support. Do me a favor, if you wouldn't mind. If this message helped you at all, please send it over to a friend or a loved one. May God bless you and we'll see you next time.