mention I wasn ’ t looking forward to therapy ?
But Myron instantly shattered this misconception . His smile caught me off guard . It was a wide , full-teeth smile — the kind a joyful , naive kid would offer . I ’ d been expecting an old man with narrow eyes that would examine my soul or something . Instead , Myron was full of life . My defenses fell .
After seeing him for several sessions , he pointed out the reality that was obvious to him — and was becoming obvious to me , too .
“ It seems you ’ ve lost joy ,” Myron said one day . His statement sparked curiosity in me . Why joy ? I wondered . I began doing research , diving deep into the work of positive psychology and finding out what the Bible says about joy ( God created it , after all ).
At the dinner table , I would excitedly tell Carly what I ’ d learned about joy , and we would geek out together . She had a unique perspective , as she was seeing these principles come alive in the therapy room .
In those early days , we asked ourselves some probing questions :
Why is joy the key to lasting change ?
Why does joy lead to a fulfilling life ?
Why is it important to cultivate joy at the onset of change ?
Why does change start with joy rather than some other mindset , such as peace ?
We knew solving these questions was pivotal to unlocking positive change .
After years of asking ourselves these questions , we identified four gifts that are unique to joy . These gifts are what make joy the most empowering emotion in creating lasting change .
“ You can ’ t have the fullness of joy without risking the potential for pain .”
Resilience
Resilience helps us withstand all the emotions of positive change .
We might think of positive change as being about our actions , but at its core it ’ s really an emotional matter . That ’ s because our actions are ultimately the by-product of how we feel .
Joy helps us own the full range of our emotions . In doing so , we become more resilient when experiencing the emotions we don ’ t want to face . It ’ s the fear of “ negative ” emotions that causes us to sabotage ourselves . If we escape uncomfortable emotions that are essential for growth and change , we bar ourselves from the life we want .
You can ’ t have the fullness of joy without risking the potential for pain .
Think about it this way : when you first learned to walk , you had no idea how it would turn out for you . You stood up on your wobbly two legs ,
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