Does maximizing joy increase overall happiness?

I have become a lab rat for my own experiments. Lately, my happiness has become a testing ground where I’m trying to understand how to keep it constant. I know I find joy in the little things in life and for that reason I thought I should try amplyifying the experience of each “little thing” so that I can reach the maximum amount of joy per day in hopes of increasing my overall happiness in life.

Firstly, I define joy as a small thing or short-lived moment that brings me both peace and satisfaction in my life. I see happiness as an emotion that is felt by experiencing joy. Below I share some examples of how I try to maximize joy to increase happiness.

Me, trying to balance while taking a selfie on the treadmill.

I love exercising. I used to work out for 30 minutes a day, but I found my time of joy to be limited to those 30 minutes, so now I workout for 60 minutes a day. I made this change so that I can feel better for a longer period of time. The more time I spend doing cardio driven workouts then the happier I feel both during the workout and afterwards.

Me, drinking coffee at home (I prefer it to be iced though).

I normally drink only one cup of coffee a day and I am OBSESSED with iced coffee. I do feel a bit let down when I’m drinking coffee and I notice that it is almost gone. So, I may drink two coffees per day. By splitting my coffee break into two different times during the day, I not only enjoy the first coffee without being let down, but I also enjoy the anticipation of my second coffee. On top of that, it’s become a very therapeutic process for me to make my own coffee. Essentially, it’s joyful for me to partake in the whole process of preparing and drinking my own coffee at home.

Beautiful and impactful read. I’ll be sharing a review soon.

Third, I read books more than I do watch film. I am immersed in a world that is not mine and I find it hard to remove myself from the pages. I used to take my time with reading, but now I read books as swiftly as I drink water, driven by the thirst for knowledge. My mind has an escape while my eyes are further opened to something new.

There are parts of this experiment I do question. Am I only experiencing joy in activities that do not require more than one person? Am I increasing my levels of joy with the “little things” I love because I am trying to keep myself upbeat and sane throughout this life of routine? Will I ever reach a plateau with the level of joy I am experiencing now? Please note: exercising, drinking coffee, and reading are not the only things that bring me joy. I am only sharing some of the things that do.

There is a movie called Another Round where a group of men (friends who work at the same school) test out the idea of drinking low levels of alcohol each day to gain the benefits of its effects in both social and professional settings. I’m not trying this and I do NOT recommend it, but the film inspired me to test out my own little self study on happiness.

Any tips or tricks on maintaining happiness or am I just overthinking it? I may have a part two on this topic sometime down the road.

Your everyday girl,

Sara

P.S The image of Americanah is not mine, found it online.