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You have probably heard the phrase, “You cannot control everything that happens to you, but you can control your reaction.” Any situation you encounter will have a certain level of impact on your life. However, it does not have to control how you experience that situation as you have the power to choose your reaction.
When you focus on positivity and happiness, you create a sense of inner peace, regardless of the external circumstances. And when you learn to live joyfully, you may create better outcomes in life.
Humans are emotional beings who experience a wide spectrum of emotions. Living a joyful life does not mean denying painful emotions. Instead, it means cultivating a mindset that prefers an optimistic view of the world. At the same time, it means developing healthy ways to cope with difficult emotions. Here are five reasons why joy is a powerful life choice.
Joy Improves Physical Health
In recent years, science continues to prove the link between emotional wellbeing and physical health. According to a study in BMC Cancer, researchers found that happiness and optimism may protect against breast cancer. The same goes for heart disease, with a study from Psychosomatic Medicine suggesting that depression may be linked to coronary disease.
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Joyful People are More Poductive
Making joy a priority can pay off when it comes to your career. Research by Harvard Business Review found that people who work with a positive mindset may improve work performance on nearly every level including productivity, creativity, and commitment. When you approach each task and your co-workers with a joyful mindset, you may just increase your chances of success.
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Joy Strengthens Relationships
If you want to improve the relationships in your life, become a happier person. Positive psychology experts Suzann Pileggi Pawelski and James Pawelski told Brides that cultivating happiness through daily habits builds healthier relationships.
When you have a positive outlook, you tend to approach the people in your life from a place of gratitude and love. This helps the other feel more valued. You also tend to appreciate the strengths in others, rather than fixate on what you do not like in that person.
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Joy Boosts Creativity
Perhaps the tortured artisit stereotype has lead some to feel that misery may inspire art, yet this is not the recipe for creativity. If you really want to spark your creative side, you should spark joy!
According to Scientific American, happy people are open to all sorts of ideas, and people are most creative when they are in a good mood. This is because they tend to see the bigger picture, which, in turn, inspires greater creativity and imagination.
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Joy Ceates More Joy!
You have probably heard the phrase “misery loves company.” Well, the same goes for joy. When you surround yourself with positive people, you experience more happiness in your own life.
A study in the British Medical Journal found that happiness spreads in social groups. Individuals who spend more time with cheerful friends are more likely to have a happier demeanor. By spending more time with happy people, you may feel happier, which inspires even more joy in those you meet!
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