Laugh. A proper one. The kind that starts in your tummy and takes over your whole body.
Laughter is extraordinary. It floods you with endorphins, it dissolves tension, it connects you to another person in the most immediate and joyful way imaginable. You know those laughs that are so uncontrollable you can barely breathe — usually in completely the wrong place, like church or a very serious meeting? Those are the ones. The ones you remember for years.
I made a new friend not long ago and the connection we had from the start was that we made each other laugh. Properly. And it opened up a whole side of me that I had, without realising it, allowed to go a bit quiet. It reminded me how essential laughter is. Not just nice-to-have. Essential.
Make new laughing memories. Actively seek out people and situations that make you laugh. Spend less time with the ones that drain you and more with the ones that light you up.
And when you’re journalling, write about this. Write about the times you laughed until it hurt. Write about the people who make you feel truly alive. Handwriting these memories — really writing them out — embeds them into your emotional memory in a deeper way than a passing thought. Your wellbeing isn’t just about managing the hard stuff. It’s about actively growing the good stuff.
Joy is a practice too.