3 Types of Joy Stealers

1. Focusing on Other’s Blessings and Forgetting About Your Own

“I’m too busy working on my own grass to notice if yours is greener.”

Anonymous

God has placed abundant blessings in each person’s life, but so often these blessings can be overlooked. Many of us are too concerned with other people’s blessings, and this leads ours to be overlooked. This leaves us unsatisfied, ungrateful, and always wishing for more. What’s left behind is a multitude of gifts that are forgotten and abandoned.

Take a moment today and reflect on what blessings God has placed in your life. When you take time to reflect on these blessings with a heart of gratitude, it allows you to see how truly blessed you are.

I love to write a list of my greatest blessings throughout the week in my journal and whisper or think “thank you” through out the day when I think about them or experience them.

When you do this daily, you will experience a content, happy, and satisfied heart.

Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.

Eckhart Tolle

2. Not Living in the “Now”.

“Living in the moment means letting go of the past and not waiting for the future. It means living your life consciously, aware that each moment you breathe is a gift.” 

Oprah Winfrey

Each day is filled with a multitude of small, beautiful moments, that are meant to be cherished, that God hopes we notice and enjoy. Whether it’s a belly laugh from a child, the smell of your favorite meal cooking at home, a tree blooming with flowers, or the warmth of the sun on your back, the blessings are endless.

So many of us are preoccupied focusing on things like past wrongs, or anxiety about an undetermined future, that it causes us to lose sight of the precious moments slipping through our fingers in our here and now.

If you can start by taking a few moments each day to calm your mind, become mindful of your breathing, and awaken your five senses, you will become aware and present to the now. The more you practice this, the more you will begin to yearn for this awakening everyday.

3. Carrying the Burden of Unforgiveness

To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.

Lewis B. Smedes

When I was younger, I believed not forgiving someone “got back” at them in some way for hurting me. But as I have gotten older, I’ve realized the only person really hurt from holding on in this way is me.

It’s like carrying a burden of hurt and pain wherever you go.

Forgiveness doesn’t happen immediately, it takes time, but if you can begin to lift anger, hurt, and resentment from your heart, your feet will feel lighter and your days will be brighter!

Let’s Wrap Up

There are some other big joy stealers but I wanted to focus on just a few this time. What are some joy stealers you’ve experienced in your life?

Talk soon,

Merrick

While you’re here, check out my post, 5 Powerful Steps Towards Truly Forgiving Someone, below.