Once, someone asked the Dalai Lama, “Lama, what is the secret to happiness?”
The Dalai Lama replied, “If you must, choose joy over happiness, for joy is the soul’s song, echoing through the universe and leaving an indelible mark on the tapestry of existence.”
In today’s fast-paced world, the quest for happiness has become a focal point in our lives. However, happiness is often fleeting and transient, leaving us longing for something deeper and more meaningful. But joy? It transcends the average idea of happiness and is considered to be a more permanent emotion.
Get ready to meet Loka Pandya, the ultimate joyologist, life coach, and entrepreneur who’s on a mission to help you discover the true meaning of joy and unlock it in your life.
The chief joy officer and a living embodiment of “Livin La Vida Loca,” – Loka is a new-day evangelist whose mission is to make joy viral. After a life-long journey to find happiness, he has invested over $250,000 in retreats and workshops worldwide. He consulted with gurus, sages, and healers and went through the hardest retreats, only to find what he was seeking was always within him – Joy.
So joy vs. happiness? What’s the real difference?
Loka posits that happiness is an emotion that can be triggered by various external sources – from material possessions to feeling a sense of accomplishment. This emotion often fades quickly and doesn’t last long.
Joy is much simpler and more immediate than happiness – an intense, momentary experience of positive emotions. We can measure it through physical expressions like smiling, laughing, and wanting to jump up and down excitedly. We get this feeling when something sparks joy within us. To summarize, while happiness can be measured over time, joy is about feeling good in the present moment.
Even in the face of adversity, finding joy can sustain us and bring us peace.
“As I went down my joy journey, I first was compassionate with myself and realized it’s normal to go through lows and funks in life. I learned that it was me beating myself up for feeling down that hindered me most from my joy. I began to look at these lows and funks as rest periods. This shifted my perspective on them from being a bad thing to just being a thing of life.” Loka explained.
Research and Studies:
Positive psychology has been focusing on happiness and joy as its primary subjects for several years, but in the last two decades, this research has grown significantly.
According to a study conducted by the Greater Good Science Center, 40% of your daily routine accounts for your overall happiness. The remaining 50% goes to your genetics; only 10% accounts for environmental factors.
This means that every one of us has the power to cultivate a lasting sense of joy in our lives. Through that 40% – our thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and attitudes – we can create an emotional state of joy, exactly as Loka said, “Joy is a process, and the entire spectrum of feelings is a part of that process.”
To cultivate real joy in your life, Loka suggests that you focus on three key areas:
Slow Down:
When you are rushing and moving fast, are you even getting the time to feel joy?
Loka believes that joy is found in the moment when you are in the present mind. To achieve this, he suggests slowing down and taking a break to observe your surroundings. This would help you unwind and inspire your inner joy.
Now, as you read this, concentrate on your breathing, connect with your body, and be grateful for everything you have or can feel.
Stop Giving Up on the Hard Times:
Admit it: The difficult times won’t pass anytime soon. They will change their shape, form, and even intensity, but they are going to linger around forever.
You cannot run from them, and you cannot hide, but that also doesn’t mean they have the right to deplete your happiness, joy, and peace. Loka suggested sprinkling a little joy into such “funks” and quitting self-judgment for feeling down.
Bring Joy into Everything You Do:
Where do your passions lie? Singing? Dancing? Doodling? Spend some time on it. The pursuit of even a modicum of happiness is worthwhile, so do whatever it is that makes you happy.
According to Loka, everything else—including your career and relationships—takes care of itself when you start doing something from a place of joy.
“In the end, just remember, you are the joy,” said Loka.
Loka Pandya is a merry minstrel who is leading the charge towards happiness, bringing everyone along for the ride and putting joy at the top of their to-do list. Jump on the bandwagon of joy he’s riding, and your life will take an unexpected turn for the better.
Join his network on LinkedIn or subscribe to his Instagram account for more details.
