Micro joys: The little things that aren't so little
What makes the simpler joys less significant than the minor inconveniences? Why do we feel more inclined to ruminate on a spilled coffee or missed train than to appreciate the moments our morning coffee hits exactly as we wanted or we catch the train we (almost) always catch?
When things go as planned, we tend to overlook those micro wins. But when there is a slight inconvenience? We often let it shift the trajectory of our energy for the rest of the day. To notice and express gratitude for the microjoys in life is to foster a mind less fraught with what didn’t work out and more focused on what did.
Why micro joys matter
The beauty of micro joys is that you decide what small, fleeting experience to appreciate. A stranger’s smile in passing, the warmth of the morning sun, or even the first sip of coffee can uplift your mood and set the tone for the remainder of the day. When we give these simple moments the energy in appreciation and gratitude, we remind ourselves of all that we can pour our energy into.
Regular practice of gratitude has positive effects on life satisfaction and, in turn, shifts our experience of daily stressors. How? When we consciously feed our energy to appreciating the micro joys, we are less likely to ruminate on and allow stressful life experiences to keep us down. Of course, they don’t erase life’s inevitable challenges, but they do create moments of joy that we may otherwise overlook.
Microjoys are the difference between reacting to an adversity amidst all that did go well and allowing one adversity to define the day.
Training your attention
You may pride yourself on ‘being prepared for anything’, but are you really just setting your mind up to expect the worst before anything has even happened? Hypervigilance has become increasingly prevalent in all of us. Of course, for survival and threat recognition, it is crucial to be aware of the dangers, or in this case, daily stressors, so we can be prepared to tackle them. However, spending every waking moment anticipating something to go wrong does not prepare us, it instills stress and anxiety for something that has not taken place yet.
Microjoys go unnoticed and under-appreciated but mindfulness is one way we can overcome that. Gratitude does not have to be expressed in a journal or written down, although this can be quite helpful as well. It can be the simple act of being present in the moment of the microjoy, appreciating it for what it is, and allowing that joy to settle in, instead of worrying about a future moment that has not taken place yet. A slow morning with sunshine, meditation, movement, or quality time with loved ones are all moments of microjoys. Over time, the more we consciously appreciate these, the more we rewire our attention to them and begin to naturally appreciate them.
Sure, it can feel silly at first to have a moment for the cup of the coffee you drink every day, but that’s part of the process. The sillier it seems, the more foreign it is for you to express gratitude for all that is going well, and that’s all the more reason you need to begin now.
With warmth and encouragement,
Ruchi