How to find more Joy without adding anything to your To-Do list

Dear Joy Seeker,

I've been doing a 20-day breathwork bootcamp with Breathpod, all about the power of our beliefs and I'm honestly fascinated.

As someone who spends a considerable amount of time studying the brain, coaching people on befriending their mind and understanding how our thoughts influence our lives, you'd think there wouldn't be much new to discover here.

And yet, I keep being reminded of just how powerful our beliefs are. Especially the ones we don't even realise we have.

One of the things that really stayed with me from the workshop was this: we're exposed to around 11 million bits of information per second, but our brain can consciously process only 50 of those bits.

Your brain has to decide what deserves your attention and guess what acts as the filtering system?

Our beliefs.

The things we believe about ourselves, other people, the world, what we're capable of, what we deserve.

They're constantly influencing what we notice and how we interpret it.

Which means that two people can experience the exact same situation and walk away with completely different versions of what happened.

One person sees an opportunity. The other sees a problem.

One person sees a setback. The other sees a chance to learn.

And both are convinced their version is the truth! I find this phenomenal.

Now, you might be wondering what all of this has to do with JOY.

Quite a lot, actually!

One of the things I consciously practise and something I teach my coaching clients, is to prime the mind to look for joy.

I genuinely start my days believing that there is joy to be found.

Not because every day is going to be incredible, or because nothing difficult will happen but because I believe joy exists all around us and I want my mind to notice it.

So I notice the little things. A beautiful sunny morning in London, a song that comes on at exactly the right moment, a lovely conversation, a delicious coffee or simply having a good laugh with someone.

And the more I look for these moments, the more I seem to find them.

Now imagine starting your day with the belief that it's going to be a terrible day.

You spill your coffee, the train is delayed, someone sends you an annoying email and there you go, another terrible Monday. Just as expected!

But what if you started with a different belief?

What if you genuinely believed that joy was available to you every single day?

That you were worthy of experiencing it?

That you didn't need to achieve something, earn something, or wait for your next holiday to feel it?

What would you start noticing that you're currently missing?

This is one of my favourite things about coaching. So often, we're convinced that something outside of us needs to change before we can feel differently.

And sometimes, yes, things really do need to change but other times, we just need to move our mind a little bit.

So this Monday, I want to leave you with a little experiment.

Start your day believing that there's joy waiting to be discovered.

And then go find some evidence. I wonder what you'll notice ✨

🌟 3 Ideas for Creating More Joy This Week

1. Catch your Monday story - if you hear yourself saying "Ugh, Monday again," replace it with "What could make today surprisingly good?"

2. Create a joy reminder - put a note on your mirror, laptop, or phone saying "Look for the good."

3. Start with a joyful assumption - before reaching for your phone, tell yourself: "There is something good waiting for me today." See what you notice.

📚 2 Inspiring Resources

1. App:Breathpod - they offer a free 7-day trial that I recommend you try. I'm exploring beliefs through their 20-day breathwork journey and it's been a such a powerful reminder that understanding something intellectually and experiencing it are different things.

2. Book:Loving What Is, Byron Katie - the home of The Work - four questions that, when applied to a specific problem, enable you to see what is troubling you in an entirely different light. My favourite one: "Is it true?"

🤔 This Week's Reflection Question

1. What belief about myself have I been treating as a fact?

I don't want you to try to change every belief you have. Just catch one, question it and ask yourself whether there's another, kinder, more joyful way to see the situation.

Because your mind is incredibly powerful - imagine what becomes possible when you start making it your ally.

With an abundance of joy,

Irina