What Brings You Joy?

This week's Grasshopper Notes essay for the week of March 27th asks a question that we all would be better served if we answer.

Grasshopper Notes are the writings from America's Best Known Hypnotherapist John Morgan. His podcasts contain his most responded to essays and blog posts from the past two decades. 

Find the written versions of these podcasts on John's website: https://grasshoppernotes.com​​ 

"The Grasshopper" the part of you that whispers pearls of wisdom that  seem to pop into your mind from out of the blue. John's essays and blog posts are his interpretations of these "Nips of Nectar." Others have labeled his writings as timeless wisdom. 

Most of the John's writings revolve around self improvement and self help. They address topics like:

• Mindfulness
• Peace of mind
• Creativity
• How to stay in the present moment
• Spirituality
• Behavior improvement

And stories that transform you to a wider sense of awareness that presents more options. And isn't that what we all want, more options? 

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Transcript

What Brings You Joy?

I was talking with a friend the other day and, in effect, she said, “I’ve been wasting my time on a project instead of getting other things that need doing done.” The Grasshopper interrupted our conversation with this: “You’re not wasting time if it brings you joy.”

It got me to thinking about the difference between pleasure and joy. Seems to me that pleasure is a physical phenomenon and joy is more of a spiritual sensation, a sense that everything is taken care of.

 Pleasure seems to have a time frame; joy has us lose track of time.

Pleasure can be a diversion, whereas joy is an immersion.

If you’re seeking pleasure to distract from doing the things you deem need to be done, that’s a diversion – a strategy of procrastination through elation. If it’s done with regularity, those needed things will pile up causing you to seek more diversion. It’s a vicious cycle.

Joy is a feeling that sneaks up on you when you’re immersed in something that makes time stand still. 

What are those things for you? What brings you joy? Make sure to include more of those things in your life and you won’t be seeking so many diversions to avoid strife.

Yes, pleasure may temporarily take the edge off your mountain of tasks, but the afterglow is abbreviated compared to the long-lasting feelings in which joy lets you bask.

Certainly, keep pleasure in your life. It’ll bring you lots of smiles. Just don’t confuse it with joy which goes on for miles.

Joy is a long lasting sensation that won’t make your tasks seem so monumental, just incremental. You’ll address them one-by-one with a more open attitude about getting things done.

All the best,

John