Creating moments of Joy

Happy 2008! The Center of Psychological Effectiveness is excited to begin the 19th year of working with delightful patients. It is our privilege to be invited into your lives to facilitate positive change. It takes courage to take the initiative to invite a professional to be your advocate and be a catalyst for change. We also appreciate your confidence in our professionalism and the other patients that you refer to us.

Each January, I write the cover article for our newsletter series. This past year has been one of war, financial concerns, and a crisis of confidence in our national leadership. Therefore, I want to provide you with some proactive thoughts on how you can create joy in your life among the stress and the responsibilities of adulthood.

Joy is not a constant state. We create moments of joy by allowing our “emotions to be in motion”. We need to allow ourselves to experience our feelings, without judgment, without repression. When we allow ourselves to experience emotions, we release the toxic emotions and free ourselves to experience positive emotions.

Joyful moments come from allowing ourselves an inner smile, creating a spirit of gratitude and learning and recognizing our ability to enjoy the moment. So often we are locked in regrets about the past and worries for the future, that we forget to live in the moment. I suggest that 70% of your thoughts be “in the moment”. The other 30% of thoughts are best divided into 20% the past from which we learn and 10% for future goals. Try an experiment and monitor your thoughts for a day. Begin the process of consciously refocusing on your thoughts on the present and begin to live in the present. The present is like a birthday present….unwrap it, enjoy it, and experience the joy!

It is a powerful understanding that each of us has the ability to create our own joy. Joy comes from the way that we elect to view the world. In cognitive-behavior therapy, we go beyond listening. We teach you the “tools” of cognitive restructuring and creating the “cognitive reframes” that can dramatically impact your life. During our formal education, we learned many facts about many subjects. However, the “life tools” to live a joyful life were not included.

Our feelings are created by our thoughts. Our emotions are not created by others. Learning how not to be “emotionally hooked” by others is another valuable cognitive-behavioral tool. We encourage you to recognize that you have the ability to live a joyful life and invite you to visit us to expand your “tool box” for joyful living.

The staff of the Center wishes you an increase in joyful moments in 2008!