Finding More Joy S.3 E. 31

Listen to this episode to learn ways of finding more joy in your work life and home life.

Show Notes:

Episode Summary:

Call them glimmers, shimmers, or moments of joy- we all want more meaningful experiences in our lives. These small, joy filled experiences make our days better and more better days add up to happier lives. If you are looking for more happiness and life satisfaction, don’t miss this episode.

In this episode:

For the past few years, one of the most downloaded posts on our Inspired Together Teachers website is a post called, 8 Simple Ways to Create a Joyful Classroom.

At first, this surprised us, but in thinking about it, it makes sense. Teaching is hard work. Teachers are often exhausted and overwhelmed with all they have to do. Since the pandemic, students also seem to be more stressed and in need of positive social connections.

The popularity of that blog post was the inspiration for this episode as we look at small ways of finding more joy in your life and work.

Here are some ways of finding more joy in your life by paying attention to what is around you.

One of the ways of finding more joy is to notice what is already existing around us. Sometimes we get so busy and so focused on our work that we don’t take time to stop and notice what is already around us. We often take for granted positive things that are right in front of us.

Sometimes the world hands us moments of joy. Think of rainbows. It is hard not to stop and notice them, and they are always fun and uplifting.
Our pets seem to have a sixth sense that causes them to come and cuddle up just when we need it most. Take the time to pet your dog or let the cat snuggle up on your lap for a few minutes.
Speaking of animals, social media is sometimes a source of small positive moments. Think of funny animal videos. Or maybe you love happy, laughing baby videos, or beautiful home videos. Which videos make you smile?
Children, either your own or your students often do or say funny things. Take a moment to laugh with them. Think about the last time you had a really good belly laugh. Look for opportunities to laugh with your family or friends. It will definitely bring you joy.

Quote:

“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” —Thich Nhat Hanh

Our brain will naturally scan what we are telling it to scan. If you are constantly scanning the news for negative or dangerous things, you will start to notice more of those things. The good news is that the opposite is also true. If you start noticing positive moments, your brains will start showing you more of them. You can train yourself to focus on the positive moments.

Create more joy in your classroom.

Joy helps students love learning. If students love learning, they will be engaged, reducing the need for complex behavior management systems. Joy encourages creativity, which opens the door for creative problem solving. Joy encourages curiosity and self-motivated learning. When students love learning, they will become life-long learners.

We talked about ways to create joy in your classroom in episodes 23 and 24. This is a good opportunity to remind you of simple things you can do to create more joy in your classroom.

Smile. We learn better from those we like. Smiling makes you approachable and likable. Smiling is contagious, and research shows that the act of smiling can actually help you to feel happier.
Laugh. Laughing reduces stress. Look for opportunities to inject humor into the day’s activities. Show a funny video clip, play a funny song. Invite a student to tell a joke of the day.
Incorporate acting. Act out a story or some content material. Students can act out almost anything. Think about science content, events from history, sections of a novel, high schoolers using foreign language skills or whatever you teach. Reader’s theater fits into this one too. It is a lot of fun, and students love it. It can also fit into all areas of the curriculum.
Add Music. Project music onto your white boards as students enter or exit the room. Students can also take content they have learned and rewrite lyrics to favorite songs.
Use fun reinforcers. You can quickly teach students to give themselves a “round of applause” by clapping while they rotate their hands in a circle. Another way is to stretch your hand up high and then reach back and “pat yourself on the back.” These are quick and simple movements that can add joy and a sense of satisfaction.
Use fun call/response attention getters. You probably have some fun call and response phrases in your classroom. Consider adding a new and novel one to your repertoire.
Use game days as a review or way to learn. You know about Jeopardy or Kahoot, but think about taking an old game board and making new cards for it that relate to the content you are teaching. Some of your best teaching can be when your kids don’t know you’re teaching. Paula used to have game day on Fridays. The students thought they were getting the day off, when in reality, they were reviewing work or previewing work for the next week. They didn’t even realize they were learning because they were so wrapped up in the fun.

Joyful classrooms are less stressful, less anxious places. Neurological studies have shown that students’ comfort levels can influence long-term information storage and transmission. Teachers and students face many challenges in today’s educational climate, but living without joy does not have to be one of them.

Our final suggestion for finding more joy in your own life is to create it.

We have talked about international life coach and motivational speaker, Brendon Burchard many times on this podcast. In one of his episodes of TLC’s Charged Life, he said ….

“Bring the joy. This is my favorite advice to give to people who say, ‘I want to change my life.’

I’m like, ‘Great. Bring the joy.’

You know, people always say, ‘Brendon, what should I bring to your seminars.’

I go, ‘Bring the joy.’

You know what I…’I’m going to come to your house on Friday for the party, what should I bring?’ Bring the joy.

I feel that it might be one of the greatest pieces of advice ever that if you’re going to show up somewhere, bring the joy. Intentionally decide to make that situation or that place you’re going better. And so many people don’t do that. They walk into environments and they say, ‘Oh well, you know; the energy is what the energy is.’

And they just accept the energy that is in the space. And I go, ‘Actually, why not try and challenge yourself to be responsible to bring good energy into that space to charge it up, if you will.’ “

This is a long quote, but we wanted to share it because it is so inspirational. Bring the joy.

Create moments of joy.

As we mentioned in the beginning, sometimes life hands you moments of joy. And the opposite is also true, sometimes life doesn’t. Then, it falls on you to create moments of joy. Here are a few simple ideas:

Smile at someone. It is so unexpected, and takes just a few seconds. Do it deliberately, and watch what happens!
Do something nice for someone else. It helps that person, but it likely helps you even more. You’ll get a hit of dopamine, the feel good chemical.
In a similar vein, send a positive email to someone. Maybe it is a thank you, or checking in with an elderly relative just to say hi. Who doesn’t like to get positive mail?
Give your self a small treat to look forward to. Maybe it is a cup of tea at the end of the day, or going for a walk with a friend. What is your favorite treat? Allow yourself to have it once in a while! Michele’s treat is using her favorite pens because they write smoothly and quickly. Paula loves to treat herself to a coffee from Starbucks or a local coffee shop. It always feels special.

Quote: We would like to close with this quote from life coach Martha Beck:

“ You were born to be open and honest and brave and playful, to laugh often, to love much, to be loved much in return. You were born for joy. Sit. Feast on your life.”

Recap:

Recognizing and creating small positive moments is a way of finding more joy in our days. More joyful days add up to more joyful lives. We’ve talked about how you can choose to live a caged life, a comfortable life or an inspired life. Paying attention to small positive moments is a way of thinking and living that will help us to live inspired lives.

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

8 Simple Ways to Create a Joyful Classroom

10 Tips to Get Your School year Off to a Great Start

Increase Student Engagement

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More About Inspired Together Teachers:

Are you a teacher struggling to balance your best work with your best life?

If you are dedicated and caring but often overwhelmed and exhausted, join us at Inspired Together Teachers. We’ll give you inspiration, strategies and tips that help you navigate life’s challenges as a stronger, more confident, and more joy filled person, both in and out of the classroom.

Inspired Together Teachers will give you practical tools to experience more of what matters most in your life.

Co-hosts Paula Schmidt and Michele Vosberg are award winning educators with the experience and skills to help teachers thrive in life and work. They’ve taught at all levels, worked with thousands of teachers, and conducted workshops around the world. They are also the authors of the #1 best-selling book The Inspired Teachers Journal: A Weekly Guide to Becoming Your Best Self.

Paula and Michele would love to have you to join them on their quest to lived inspired lives.