Learning to savour the lighter side of life – a hot cup of tea, a sunset, a sympathetic text from a friend – can ease burnout, boost wellbeing, and build the kind of resilience that carries you through harder days.
A joy list is a simple wellbeing practice of recording the small moments, sensations, and experiences that bring you happiness – a tool used to cultivate gratitude, protect against burnout, and build emotional resilience over time.
Create your joy list
Whether it’s a journal tucked into an everyday bag or a poster hanging on a bedroom wall, a joy list is a reminder of life’s many positives and pleasures. The Joyful Coach Sophie Cliff suggests a handful of prompts to get you started. What brings you joy in each of these areas?
Connection
This could include looking at photo albums of happy memories, a phone call with a friend, sending a postcard to a loved one, people watching on a park bench, or striking up a conversation with a stranger and discovering something in common.
Experiences
This is about life experiences rather than possessions – perhaps a lunchtime walk in the park, an afternoon spent gardening, a movie night with friends, an exhibition, or travel. Don’t be afraid to connect to your inner child and think of things that make you smile.
Sensory savourings
Engage with all your senses. What smells good, feels good, or tastes good to you? It might be a meal in a restaurant, a spritz of your signature perfume, or stroking a purring cat. You might like to watch the sunrise or give yourself a head massage in the shower.
Joyful movement
Exercise generates feel-good endorphins, so think of the ways movement brings you joy. It could be dancing to a favourite tune, morning sun salutations, a breathing exercise, hiking in nature, or swimming in the ocean. How do you like to get active?
Acts of kindness
This should be towards yourself as well as others. You might find joy in volunteering for a local charity or community group, paying compliments to people you meet, giving yourself a pamper evening, or taking a friend out for coffee and offering a listening ear.
Curious learning
The focus here is enjoyment rather than achievement and it can take many different forms. You might like to try out new recipes, listen to philosophy podcasts, participate in a book club, or sign up to a class or online course.
