Andre
Many people do not realize that joy and happiness are two different feelings. You may ask, “What is the difference?”And my answer would be – it is slightly complex to define them apart.
Some people say joy is the innermost peace that no good or bad situation in life can dictate, while happiness is primarily based on life events. However, some may think exactly the opposite.
Happiness
Whatever your perspective is, the idea that has the consensus of the majority is that your happiness depends on various external factors. Happiness is an emotion that you experience as it happens to you. Even though you may desire it, seek or pursue it, to feel happiness is not a choice that you can make consciously.
Joy
In contrast, joy is a choice you purposefully make. Joy is an unexploited reservoir of potential that is always present inside you. Basically, it is the attitude of your spirit and heart; hence you can still feel joy in tough times.
What Sets them Apart?
Joy does not need you to smile to exist, although it would be nice if you do. Joy loves sharing space and can co-exist with other emotions such as shame, anger, sadness – happiness cannot.
Happiness will be absent if you are going through dark and difficult circumstances, whereas joy never leaves. Joy is deeply rooted within your spirit and brings peace and contentment to your being and life as a whole.
Joy needs you to connect – this connection is often with other people or things in your lives, such as people, pets, hobby, creation, etc. Joy is always there within you, while happiness is just a momentary emotion that passes through.
Happiness is the external layer of emotion; it is based on people, events, places, situations, thoughts, and things. Happiness needs a cause to happen, such as your hopes for a new relationship, a new job, or a future goal.
It is usually linked to the idea that “someday” when a “certain thing” will happen, you will feel happiness. For instance, “when I meet the right person” or “when I get that job” or “when I buy that car,” etc.
In short, happiness is future-oriented – you put all your hopes on a person, situation, or event. You hope that everything will align according to your expectation resulting in your happiness. You can observe one of the most common examples of these expectations during the holiday season.
Whether you have a “happy holiday” will depend on if your partner, for example, shows up drunk or acts inappropriately. So basically, your expectation for happiness and if you have a “happy holiday” totally depends on someone else’s actions and behavior.
4 Ways to Look At Joy and Happiness
It is important to know where our true joy lies and what brings us happiness.
- Attitude vs. Destination
Relax for a moment and envision a life you have always desired. That vision is your destination, freedom to do what you want, travel wherever you want. Maybe it is the comfort and stability of a family life that you long for. Whatever your vision is, do not ignore it.
This vision in your head is your destination and the key to recognizing your happy place. One way to look at joy vs. happiness is visualizing your happiness as you achieve your end goal (the vision in your head), whereas joy is every milestone leading to that end-goal.
Joy is simple – it is light-hearted. You can experience it passing through you without feeling the heaviness of your goals, long road ahead, etc. because joy is the attitude you have towards life. You know you will get there, and that thought alone brings you inner peace and contentment –that my friend is joy.
2. Joy and Happiness Go Hand-in-Hand
Think of your body as a world where happiness is like breezes, delightful, and inevitably pleasing, but joy is the ever-present oxygen.
Most people overemphasize the idea of happiness and expect it to happen in the most grandeur way with fireworks and fairytales. The truth is, you are never going to experience true happiness unless you practice joy.
You need to learn the art of gratification, and gratitude is the way forward. It is a way to see the joy in little things in life.
A glance at a bigger picture can overwhelm you, and we humans have the vulnerability of focusing too much on the negatives in lives.
So, start looking at smaller things that create conveniences in your life, such as clean water, food on the table, a roof over your head, or a car to commute. So many in the world would give their right arm to have what you have.
The more gratitude you practice, the easier it will be to see simple joys in your life and the things around you.
3. The Game of Control
We all know we cannot control everything, and life will become happy unexpectedly where you will face challenges. Think of your home, money, or possessions as your “goals;” we acquire them to feel the happiness, and we do have control over them.
Whereas, events like death or break-up are profound and deep moments that we have no control over at all. But we still find ways to spark joy during these dark times and find the motivation and live on.
4. You Do Not Need to Be Happy to Feel Joy
I will leave you with a simple assurance – you can always feel joy even in the unhappiest places. For instance, the death of a loved one is the most dreadful thing that can happen to someone. However, we gather at the funeral, pay our respects, and share how great that person was.
We feel lighter, sharing our innermost emotions, and connecting with the close-knitted circle of family and friends brings us inner peace. That inner sense of soothing is what you call joy.
Let Joy and Happiness Co-exist
Want to live a fulfilled life? Then you must allow joy and happiness to co-exist within you. While your happiness is accountable to your wishes, desires, and goals, joy is an emotion and an instinct that has always lived within you.
A final thought – whether it is to feel joy or happiness, either way, you cannot go wrong.
