How do you inject JOY into your day?

[eatprayloveorjusteateateat]

I wake up everyday and feel 'bleurgh!'... just bleurgh!

Is there any way that you cheer yourself up/ inject some joy into your morning/day?

Is it getting up an hour before everyone else and having a good cup of luxury coffee?
Do you watch something to shake off your crappy mood?
listen to something?
do something unusual?
eat something?
put something on?

i don't know about you but i don't wake up feeling naturally happy so i really need to do something to put a smile on my face.

Any ideas?

Quinoa will bring you joy, happiness and laughter

that's fucking superb zing

I had JOY today when I got into my lobster bath with a glass of wine DH was out DD asleep and I used the expensive (ie more than 99p) bubbles.
Absolute joy.
Gonna file that feeling for another day and refer back to it.

Nice cup of tea

My little veggie patch, especially things I've grown from seed, I'm still amazed that my 6ft tall tomato plants come from a tiny seed!

Loving this thread

Tea, toast with a shed load of clover butter and uninterrupted browsing mumsnet followed by watching something engaging on tv.

Or going shopping, child free, for a whole day. This is a distant dream.....!

Ooh OP, excellent thread! I'm a primary school teacher in my second year of teaching and am under a lot of pressure at the moment, so you're thread has reminded me that I need to fin The Joy.

For me, it's reminding myself that I love my job, no matter what politics go on around it. Every lunch time when I get to hold a small child's hand on the way into class and listen to them chatter happily away, I feel blessed. Every home time when I have a class of someone else's babies hanging on my every word at story time, I feel on top of the world. There's something magical about watching the faces of children move through excitement, suspense, and happiness and hearing a genuine belly laugh every now and then because of a story you are reading them.

Nothing better than the big wide eyes of a four year old.

Waking up and going to see my dog every morning. She's always happy to see me and it is heart warming.

Looking at my spreadsheet that goes all the way to 2020

Listening to music on the radio
Tea and cake
Walking outside
Lying in the sun
Hugs
Swimming in the sea

A long, powerful shower every morning. Turning my face up to the shower head and letting the water massage me awake.

Chatting to my kids over breakfast with a good coffee.

Putting the baby down for his nap after the others are at school, tidying the house so it looks great and i can feel proud of it. Then crawling back under the duvet with a good book until baby awakes.

Arranging at least one adult social interaction a day.

My top one is going for an outdoor swim in a heated pool in cold weather.

Mmmmm....to long powerful shower......sshhhh.....

I have a 'dance around the kitchen' playlist on my ipod, filled with cheesey, poppy tracks. It always makes me smile and feel good.

I practise stealth kisses with the DCs - I am a Ninja kisser; they never see it coming! That always makes me feel good.

And I have a list inside my (coffee) cupboard door of all the people who love me.

I've just started to meditate using the Headspace app - I'm loving it, I feel more calm and present throughout the day . It only takes 10 minutes!

Some Yoga stretches
Lobster hot shower
Freshly done swishy hair
Splash of Jo Malone
Dress in something you feel fab in
A power ballad or two, dancing is optional
Hug from DS

Porridge with Banana and Cinnamon in the morning.

I used to say a really good cup of coffee. But since I seem to have developed an intolerance to milk and soya I fell quite at loss how to create my favourite milky coffee. Have tried rice milk oat milk (good for the porridge but not in coffee), and almond milk (too thick, makes me gag).

Pottering around in the garden, picking apples, making apple pies and freezing them.

What would really inject happiness into my day would be a job I love. Have no idea what this could be. Left teaching secondary last term. Liked it but couldn't get jobs locally as I can only teach one subject.

Exercise does make some hormones kick in to make me feel good, and I get some joy out of my finished DIY projects.

Love all of these .... keep them coming. I'm reading whilst eating my cinnamon bagel and drinking coffee!

YY to:

cycling to work. There's always a moment even on the rainiest shittest day when I suddenly realise I'm happy.

swimming outdoors in winter in a heated pool. Really. I know it sounds weird, but it's bliss

eggs for breakfast, tea, meditation...

Oh, and Buffy.

that's wierd. I am watching Buffy now. spooky.

Lovely thread, I get up early to have a cup of good strong tea by myself. A good walk down by the sea listening to my music.

Making myself a nice lunch and taking time to present it well.

I love to draw just doodling makes me happy.

Flowers have sunflowers in my windowsill at the moment . I try and almost photograph moments in my mind that yeah this is happy this is good. So I realise that I do have joy in the midst of business

I wish I lived by the sea - I swear I would be happier.

Oh this is fab.

I'm having a shitty time at work and was already trying to do the pollyanna thing to cheer myself up but this has really given me a lift.

My list:
Danny Baker on radio 5 on a Saturday morning
Flowers on the kitchen windowsill, currently sunflowers. I can see them when I open the front door when I get home from said shitty workplace and they never fail to make me smile.
Unexpected random events for example taking a different route home from school, down a public footpath around a field, to find the most enormous blackberry bramble patch that is full of enormous ripe blackberries. We got dd1's lunch box out and stuffed it full, we were covered in blackberry juice and scratches, it was so much fun because it was totally unplanned and for once we weren't rushing about. Our haul disappeared very quickly, we'll be going back for more and I am not telling anyone where that bush is :o

feelingdizzy x post re sunflowers on the windowsill.. they are so big and bold and bright, they can't fail to make you smile

I get up first and make a for me and DH. Then sit at top of stairs with my where I have a little collection of family photos, a beautiful plant, and other happy mementos to look at on the stair windowsill. Enjoy those few moments of peace before have to get everyone else up.
During the day I like to spend a few minutes reading something inspiring, which gradually builds wisdom (if I say so myself !) mindfulness, and a quiet joy and groundedness.
I also like to get out into the natural world often, and enjoy walking - in mountains and forests or just in the local park. Wild flowers always make me smile - an amazing burst of colour to brighten your way, such as this summer I found and loved (the aptly named)"Heartsease" in the Highlands
Music is also essential - world music or classic FM.

I wouldn't say no to a cinnamon bagel with cream cheese either!

Omg. Yes to swimming outside! There was a lovely outdoor pool near where I used to live in Sydney. Was great even in winter (similar to our summer really).

The best way of injecting joy into your day is to be grateful for the things you already have. Simple things like having enough food to eat, having central heating or hot running water, transport. The sort of things that make your life run but you barely notice.
Once you feel grateful for the little things, the rest falls into place.

This is a fab thread! 10mins of Salute to the Sun, Asthanga Yoga is my way of setting myself up just right. I love that sequence.