Appreciation and Joy
Ever since Thanksgiving, I’ve been pondering an intriguing Scripture verse. Psalm 126:3 reads, “The Lord has done great things for us and we are filled with joy.”
What struck me was the linkage between appreciation for the good things God has done for us and joy. The former appears to be a trigger for the latter.
This isn’t just some theoretical theology. Recent brain science studies have revealed that as we express gratitude our brains release dopamine and serotonin, the two crucial neurotransmitters for our emotions and these make us feel good in the moment.
Yet when we lean into those great things and linger in them for more than a moment, something else occurs. Our capacity for joy actually increases.
Joy and Resilience
This is no small thing because joy is in fact the secret to emotional resilience. The greater our capacity for joy, the greater our ability to endure hardship well. High joy people bounce back from the hardships of life faster than low joy people.
The greater our capacity for joy, the greater our ability to endure hardship well.
So how do you increase your capacity for joy? In their book Building Bounce, Dr. Marcus Warner and Stefanie Hinman state that medical research has discovered that you can actually rewire your brain toward a more joyful default when you regularly engage in gratitude and appreciation.
You can actually rewire your brain toward a more joyful default when you regularly engage in gratitude and appreciation.
They write, “Staying in a state of appreciation for five minutes or longer two or more times each day is an important habit for growing the joy center of your brain.”
There is much in life to appreciate when you stop to think about it. Yet that’s our problem because we often don’t stop to think about it.
G.A.M.E.S.
Warner and Hinman suggest that one way to use appreciation to build joy is to consider the acrostic GAMES.
Gratitude
Anticipation
Memories
Experiences
Singing
Gratitude is appreciating what is happening in the present. What is it that you are experiencing right now that makes you smile? A sight…a sound…a smell…a feeling. Linger in the moment and allow joy to fill you.
Anticipation is appreciating what you are looking forward to in the future. Such anticipation is so powerful that it often brings more joy than the experience itself. Thus, it’s always a good idea to have not only big things but little things to look forward to and to give ourselves permission to dwell on the joy they bring.
Anticipation is so powerful that it often brings more joy than the experience itself.
Memories involves reflecting on what you appreciate from the past. They might be childhood memories or young adult memories. They might be individual memories, or they could be family memories. Reflecting on special things that happened in days bygone is a great way to trigger joy.
Beyond these joy triggers, there are also two practices you can engage in that can generate joy.
Experiences refers to creating a positive experience that can help fill your joy bucket. Plan a date night. Research a vacation. Go fishing. Paint a picture. The goal is to intentionally and regularly put joy-inducing activities into your schedule.
Finally, there’s Singing. Music is a great way to evoke appreciation. It can celebrate that which is happening in the present and relive those memories from the past. I’ve found joy to be triggered when I watch YouTube videos from some of my favorite bands from high school and college.
However, singing words of worship and praise to God can be even more powerful. The Apostle Paul realized this as he wrote in his letter to the Colossians. “Let the message of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts” (3:16).
Building the habit of appreciation is not only honoring to God. It will also grow your emotional capacity in the same way that working out will grow your physical capacity.
Appreciation Vacations
What if you would do a little experiment this week? What if you would take a 5-minute “appreciation vacation” 2-3 times a day? And then make your way through GAMES.
To get the most out of this, let me suggest that you record your daily experience in an “appreciation journal”. Take note of the steps you took and the feelings that were triggered. If you want to leverage this even more, ask your spouse or a good friend to join you in the activity. Joy shared is joy multiplied.
Joy shared is joy multiplied.
The holidays are a great time to lean into appreciation. I’m confident that by filling your joy bucket, you will expand its capacity. And with that capacity, you will have greater emotional resilience when difficult days come in the year ahead.
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