Finding joy in your everyday life is essential. When you can find and experience a little joy each day, you not only lift your spirits, but you also help yourself feel more satisfied and fulfilled with the life you’re living.
To squeeze some extra joy into your life, take this thirty day challenge to experience some daily moments of happiness!
Related: Check out all our 30 Day Challenges
Day 1: Spend twenty minutes outdoors and be mindful of your environment in the present moment.
Human beings tend to spend a lot of their time indoors. Today, make a point to spend twenty minutes outside. Whether you’re actually out in the woods or simply sitting outside of work for your lunch break, use your outdoor time as a chance to reconnect with some sunshine and fresh air to feel some extra joy.
Related: 30 Day Challenge – Creating An Abundance Mindset
Day 2: Tackle a task you’ve been purposely avoiding or procrastinating for a while.
Avoiding scheduling your dental cleaning? Have you been ignoring your check engine light in your car? If any of these tasks sound familiar, make a point to tackle one of them today rather than continuing to avoid it.
While you may loathe calling someone on the phone to schedule an appointment, going to the mechanic, or whatever else it is that needs to be done, the joy you feel once it’s been handled is satisfying.
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Day 3: Compliment a stranger today.
Feel some joy within yourself by spreading joy to another person. Give a stranger a kind and genuine compliment today to lift everyone’s spirits – yours and theirs.
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Day 4: Spend some time playing with a child in your life or an animal.
Kids and pets play without abandon. Spend some time playing with a child in your life or an animal today. Enjoy the children’s games of make-believe and the silliness of animal friends to experience extra joy.
Related: 30 Day Positive Experiences Challenge
Day 5: Create a playlist of silly videos you can watch that you know will instantly bring you some joy.
Create a playlist of silly videos that are guaranteed to make you laugh. Not only will it bring you joy as you compile your playlist, but you’ll also have the playlist readily available if you ever need a bonus boost of joy in the future.
Related: 30 Day Challenge To Create Life Balance
Day 6: Spend some time engaged in an activity or hobby you love to do.
Whether it’s playing sports, sewing, cooking, watching your favorite television show, kayaking, or scrapbooking, make some time for your favorite activity today. Engaging in an activity you love is a guaranteed way to feel some joy.
Related: 30 Day Challenge To Open Your Mind To All That Is Possible
Day 7: Call up a friend you haven’t spoken to recently and catch up with them.
Friends – particularly adult friends – tend to grow apart as their individual lives become busier and busier. Today, make a point to call up an old friend to catch up. Sharing about your lives and laughing with each other will provide an instant boost of joy.
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Day 8: Practice speaking to yourself using positive, gentle language.
Take note of how you tend to speak to yourself. If you notice that you’re using negative, disparaging language with yourself, it’s time to focus on using more positive, gentle language. Speaking to yourself with kindness instantly elevates your joy.
Related: 30 Day Self Validation Challenge
Day 9: Treat yourself to something small that never fails to bring you some happiness.
Make a point to stop by your favorite coffee shop, make time for a trip to the local bookstore for something new to read, or spend some extra time exercising. Whatever little thing brings you happiness, give yourself that small treat today for some joy.
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Day 10: Offer your help to someone in need of it.
Bring extra joy into your life and someone else’s by offering your assistance to them. Make a point to help out someone who needs it, whether it’s a neighbor, friend, family member, coworker, or total stranger.
Related: 30 Day Challenge To Build Self Trust
Day 11: Do something in the name of your health.
Doing good things that benefit your health will also bring you joy. Schedule your annual check up, go through your skincare routine, do some light stretching, or cook a nutritious meal. Doing things in the name of your health is a great way to bring yourself joy because it reinforces the idea that you and your well being are important.
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Day 12: Get in some exercise or movement into your day.
Whether you get in a super sweaty and intense workout session or just take a stroll around your neighborhood, make a point to fit in some exercise and movement into your day. Getting your blood pumping is a great mood booster.
Related: 30 Day Challenge To Boost Your Emotional Health
Day 13: Cook a meal for yourself that you love.
People often connect food’s flavors and smells to specific memories. Today, cook yourself a meal that you love because of its meaning and enjoy its tastes and the memories it stirs for you.
Related: 30 Day Challenge To Improve Your Self Discipline
Day 14: Schedule some rest time into your day and actually honor it.
That’s right – block off an hour to take a nap today! Scheduling time to rest, or at least take a break away from work or other people, is a great way to add some joy into your day and ensure you have enough energy to power through the rest of your day.
Related: 30 Day Challenge To Improve Your Thoughts
Day 15: Make a point to go to sleep a little earlier than usual this evening.
Joy comes easiest when you are feeling well rested. Make a point to go to bed earlier this evening (or at the very least, actually go to bed on time). Getting some extra snoozing time will work wonders for your happiness levels.
Related: 30 Day Challenge To Set Your Growth Mindset
Day 16: Engage in some deep breathing exercises.
Deep breathing exercises have been a part of meditation practices for thousands of years, and for good reason. Taking some deep, purposeful breaths can help you recenter and refocus yourself when you’re feeling scattered. Try some deep breathing today as an attempt to reconnect with calmness and joy.
Related: 30 Day Challenge To Build Your Self-Confidence
Day 17: Plan something you can look forward to in the future.
Make some plans to do something fun in the future. Whether it’s something big like a vacation or small like an outing with a friend, knowing that you have some exciting plans to look forward to will add more joy into the coming days.
Related: 30 Day Challenge To Develop Your Personal Power
Day 18: Declutter and clean one of your personal spaces.
A clean and organized space is joy-inducing. Take some time to clean and organize at least one of your personal spaces today. Whether it’s your car, your bedroom, your office, your closet, or your kitchen, once the space is cleaned, you’ll feel an immense amount of relief and joy.
Day 19: Tackle something that’s been causing you stress or concern today.
Have you been feeling excess stress over something you haven’t handled yet? Make a point to take care of the issue today. Although getting the task done may be uncomfortable or challenging, the joy you’ll feel once you’ve handled it is unparalleled.
Day 20: Make a point to avoid your social media accounts today.
Social media can be a great tool for connecting you with others, but it can also lead to a lot of unnecessary comparisons. Social media also makes you privy to constant news updates. Today, experience joy by disconnecting from your social media accounts for a while.
Day 21: Do something kind for one of your loved ones.
Do something good for someone you love today. Not only will it strengthen the relationship you have with them, but it will also bring you joy and satisfaction for spreading some kindness into another person’s life.
Day 22: Adopt a schedule or calendar so you can have your plans visible and laid out visually.
Knowing exactly what to expect each week is a great way to feel more joy. Not only can you use a schedule or calendar to keep track of upcoming events, but you can also avoid any surprises because you accidentally forgot an appointment again.
Day 23: Take yourself out for a nice meal or other treat.
You don’t need someone else to take you out on a date or an outing. For example, you can absolutely eat alone in a restaurant or go see a movie by yourself. Treat yourself to a nice, relaxing solo outing of your choice today for some joy.
Day 24: Try to learn a new skill.
There is nothing quite as exciting as learning a new skill. Take some time to try learning something you’ve always wanted to try today. While you aren’t going to be an expert after one session, the joy of getting started and improving over time is infectious!
Day 25: Spend some time chatting with a happy, positive person.
Seek out someone who tends to be happy and positive, and spend some time chatting with them today. Spending time around happy, positive people has a good influence on your own attitude – you are more likely to emulate their joy when you spend more time around people with these kinds of positive attitudes.
Day 26: Have a ten minute dance party to a playlist of some of your favorite, upbeat music.
Create a playlist of your favorite dance jams and have a mini dance party. It’s an excellent way to boost your mood quickly and get your blood pumping if you’ve been sitting still for a while.
Day 27: Allow yourself to take a trip down memory lane and remember a happy time from the past.
Pull out the photo albums and reminisce on some happy memories. Remembering times when you’ve felt happy in the past is a great way to experience joy in two ways: it reminds you of all the memories you have so you can feel grateful for them, and it sparks your happiness surrounding those particular moments in the past.
Day 28: Give yourself some alone time.
While people may be social, it is completely normal and necessary to seek some alone time. Today, give yourself a chance to be alone for a while, whether it’s in your own home or somewhere quiet at work. Enjoy your alone time, whether it’s for a few minutes or a few hours, and let the joy of taking a break from socialization envelop you.
Day 29: Visualize what you hope to accomplish in the future.
Visualization makes the pathway to success seem a little clearer. Imagine where you want to see yourself in the future today. Build a detailed image of what you’ll look like once you reach one of your biggest goals. Use that image to build excitement and joy into your day.
Day 30: Make a good choice and then acknowledge it with yourself afterward.
It isn’t always easy to make a good choice – even when we know it is the right thing to do! Today, when you make a good choice for yourself, make a point to acknowledge that you did the best thing for yourself afterward. Reminding yourself that you are capable of doing good can spark extra joy in your day.
