Stop Earning Joy. Start Using It.
Last week I snorted oat milk latte out of my nose from laughing so hard at brunch with my girlfriend. It was the first proper belly laugh I'd had in weeks, and it hit me like a reset button for my entire nervous system. If you're a high-achieving professional who's forgotten how to prioritise joy without guilt, this episode will show you how to design more aliveness into your daily routine using science-backed strategies.
Why Joy Isn't Frivolous. It's Brain Fuel
Here's what blew my mind when I dove into the research: joy isn't just a nice-to-have emotion. Barbara Fredrickson's Broaden-and-Build Theory shows that positive emotions literally expand your cognitive abilities. When you experience joy, your prefrontal cortex gets more resources, your visual field widens, and you can see more solutions and possibilities.
This is completely different from stress, which narrows your brain into tunnel vision mode. So when we dismiss joy as frivolous or tell ourselves we haven't "earned" it yet, we're actually depriving ourselves of the emotional fuel that makes us better at everything else we're trying to accomplish.
I get it though. With everything happening in the world right now, choosing joy can feel guilty. But running yourself into the ground doesn't help anyone. When you're depleted and joyless, you have less energy for your work, relationships, and community.
Three Science-Based Strategies to Design Joy Into Your Day
Strategy #1: Notice Your Environmental Joy Cues
Designer Ingrid Fetell Lee's research shows that joy is a predictable physical response to certain environmental stimuli: bursts of color, nature, playful shapes, interesting textures. You can literally hack this by building your personal joy cues into your environment. Wear that colorful sweater, add fresh flowers to your workspace, or take the scenic route home instead of the fastest one.
Strategy #2: Schedule Micro-Moments of Joy Daily
Stop leaving joy up to chance and start scheduling it like any other important appointment. I'm talking about 2-5 minute micro-moments that make you feel more like yourself. Maybe it's a three-minute dance break between Zoom calls, sending a friend a ridiculous voice note, or having one "rescue song" that never fails to shift your energy.
Strategy #3: Reframe Joy as Productive
This is the mindset shift that changes everything for high-achievers. When you feel stuck or depleted, instead of pushing harder, ask yourself: "What would feel fun right now?" Positive emotions boost creativity, problem-solving, and resilience. Joy isn't the opposite of productivity, it's what makes productivity sustainable.
Three Key Takeaways
1️⃣ Joy expands your cognitive abilities: Positive emotions literally give your brain more resources for creativity and problem-solving, making joy a strategic choice, not a selfish one.
2️⃣ Design joy into your environment: You don't have to wait for happiness to happen accidentally. Build your personal joy cues (color, nature, music) into your daily routine for predictable nervous system resets.
3️⃣ Micro-moments compound over time: Two to five minutes of intentional joy daily creates significant improvements in wellbeing, energy, and resilience. Small moments, big impact.
Resources Mentioned
- Barbara Fredrickson's Broaden-and-Build Theory - Foundational research on how positive emotions expand cognitive capacity
- "Joyful" by Ingrid Fetell Lee - Explores how environmental design triggers predictable joy responses
- BJ Fogg's habit research - Shows how positive emotions are one of the most powerful habit-forming tools
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