What’s Your Joy Quotient?

The level of joy you experience is often a direct reflection of the degree to which you’re living the life you want to be living—what many call “living your dream.” That dream could be as small as “I always wanted to be a dad” or as large as creating a one-person show and taking it around the world or starting a biotechnology business. When we begin to nurture and pursue our heart’s desires—no matter how challenging the actual work involved—we can experiencea fine, effortless joy like nothing else. It may take far longer than you think it should to come to full fruition. But if you can just keep focused the joy you find in each step along the way, it can be yours. Test your joy quotient with this quiz.

True or False?

1. Joy doesn’t just belong to the lucky few with no worries. It belongs to me and to every human.

2. I think of myself as someone who doesn’t just want what I want, but as someone who is going to get it.

3. I keep blank notebooks in several places for jotting down things that I notice make me happy.

4. My family, my community, my world all benefit from my pursuit of what makes me happy. My joy spills over to all those I interact with.

5. Feeling vulnerable and insecure is part of the process of creating any dream. To see me through those times, I call on those who I know support my project, not those who might discourage my efforts.

6. I quiet my mind regularly, and when I do, creative ideas and in- spirations often show up unannounced. Even if I only take one step towards realizing those ideas, I feel more joyful.

7. I look around my world—city streets or nature’s paths—for inspira- tion and sources of joy.

8. I anticipate unexpected twists of fate, chance encounters and un- orthodox solutions.

9. It isn’t up to me what the world thinks of me. My job is to work on my dream and send it out there.

10. I make a regular habit of connecting with my wishes, and I’m not afraid to wish for too much. But rather than wish for personal success alone, I link my wishes to how they serve people.

11. I use affirmations—positive statements phrased in the present tense and repeated often—to calm any fears I identify as holding me back.

12. I know that false desires are accompanied by feelings that are anxious, grasping and withholding, whereas true heart’s desires are accompanied by feelings that are joyful, releasing and generous.

13. I make it a habit to do one scary thing and to do one thing differently every day.

If you answered “false” more often than “true,” you may be plugging up your joy channel. Please don’t hesitate to call if you would like help clearing it and reconnecting to your joy.