I lived my life thinking joyful living meant waking up every day with a smile, and never feeling frustrated, disappointed, or lost.
I thought it was about chasing happiness, about forcing positivity even when my world felt like it was falling apart. But that’s not what joyful living is. It’s not about pretending life is perfect. It’s about embracing every part of it, the ups, the downs, the lessons, and the growth that comes from it all.
Further Reading: 15 Unhealthy Habits That Kept Me Miserable
Real Joy Comes from Letting Go
I forced myself to stop trying to control everything. The moment I started to understand the importance of letting go, was the moment I started to experience real joy. I used to think that if I planned enough, worked hard enough, and held on tightly to my expectations, I could shape my life into exactly what I wanted. But life doesn’t work like that. It humbles you. It forces you to surrender. And in that surrender, when I finally let go and let God, I found peace.
Joyful living isn’t about avoiding the storm; it’s about keeping your focus on God while you’re in it. It’s about trusting that every challenge, every heartbreak, and every setback has a purpose.
Further Reading: 20 Things I Let Go and Let God Handle
The Power of Emotional Resilience
I’ve been knocked down more times than I can count. I’ve questioned myself, my choices, and my worth. But every time I’ve come out stronger, it wasn’t because I avoided pain; it was because I learned how to move through it.
Emotional resilience isn’t about ignoring your feelings. It’s about allowing yourself to feel, process, and grow. It’s about knowing that bad days don’t define you.
When I started focusing on resilience instead of avoidance, everything changed. I stopped fearing disappointment. I stopped running from discomfort. I embraced it all, knowing that even my struggles were shaping me into the woman I was meant to be.
Further Reading: Learning to Trust Again Meant Removing the Expectations
Learning to Find Peace in the Uncertainty
One of the hardest lessons I had to learn was that peace doesn’t come from having all the answers. It comes from trusting God even when you don’t.
I used to believe that if I just had clarity, if I knew exactly how things would work out, I could finally relax. But life rarely gives us that kind of certainty.
Instead, I had to learn how to trust, how to take things one day at a time, and how to find joy even in the waiting.
I had to remind myself that just because I didn’t have an answer yet didn’t mean God wasn’t working things out. That shift in perspective changed everything for me.
Further Reading: Learning to Love Yourself Through Reparenting
Joyful Living is About Perspective, Not Perfection
Choosing joy doesn’t mean ignoring pain. It means refusing to let pain steal your gratitude. It means acknowledging life’s hardships while still appreciating its beauty. It’s about recognizing that every season, whether good or bad, has something to teach you.
When I let go of the idea that I had to be happy all the time to live joyfully, I finally found what I was looking for. I realized that real joy comes from knowing that no matter what happens, I am held, I am guided, and I am never alone.
Final Thoughts
Joyful living isn’t about perfect days, it’s about learning to navigate the imperfect ones with faith, trust, and resilience. It’s about surrendering the need to control, embracing every season, and keeping your focus on God even when life doesn’t make sense. When you stop trying to force happiness and start embracing joy in all its forms, that’s when you truly start living.