Joy Journal

My Senior of High School, I was feeling the typical anxiety that many teenagers feel as they prepare for the “real world” and enter the first months of the “Decade of Decisions” along with the depressing realization that Graduation could mean a lot of goodbyes.  It was a fun but stressful and scary time.  I remember a Sunday school lesson about Joy.  We had a guest speaker that has endured many things and is a great example of having joy. She talked about writing down things that make us happy. After this lesson, I started my own “Joy Journal,” which later became a useful tool for “pressing forward” when I began to struggle with Depression and Anxiety.

I strongly agree with Elder Jeffrey R. Holland who described depression as “an affliction so severe that it significantly restricts a person’s ability to function fully, a crater in the mind so deep that no one can responsibly suggest it would surely go away if those victims would just square their shoulders and think more positively—though I am a vigorous advocate of square shoulders and positive thinking!”

However, I do believe that there are methods of bringing about happy feelings by remembering happy things and thus making it easier to keep moving forward. The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, teaches us that “the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance. (1 Nephi 1:20).”

My challenge to everyone, especially those with mental or emotional difficulties, is to notice the

tender mercies of the Lord, write them down in your Joy Journal daily, and read them whenever you need a boost.  There are some hard moments when I need to read it, other hard times when I need to force myself to write in it, or happy moments when I want to be even happier.  My joy journal is filled with quotes, scriptures, ideas, tender mercies, and small and simple things that make me feel happy. For example:

“My best friend and I alone beat a team of all of his roommates in a volleyball game!”

“’Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.’ – Anonymous”

“The click sound of running spikes on a track.”

“How fun it is at work when someone’s change is 41 cents and I quickly grab one of each coin.”

“Everyone laughed at the joke I made in my speech.”                               

“Doctrine and Covenants 6:36—‘Look unto me in every thought. Doubt not. Fear not.’”

“I dropped my books today and three people came running to pick them up.”

“I hit seven green lights in a row and got to work on time even though I was running late!”

“My nephew came and sat on my lap and told me he loves me.”

“’The world is round, and the place which seems like the end may also be the beginning’—Ivy Baker”

“Worry gives a small thing a big shadow. –J”

“Coach texted me to congratulate me on setting the new record.”

These may seem like small things, and perhaps I am the only person in the world that thinks that giving 41 cents to a customer is fun or that three people helping to pick up books is even worth writing down. But, the thing is that no one else can make you feel happy. Only YOU can make you feel happy. So figure out what helps you make you happy, write down every small thing or tender mercy that comes your way, and read about them whenever you need it.  As you do, you will better recognize the hand of the Lord in your life, become more grateful, relieve stress, focus on what matters most, and be more able to press forward through the hard times. Whether you write things in a little notebook (this is what I recommend most) or keep a document on your smartphone, take your Joy Journal with you everywhere you go and you will always have a go-to when you need a pick-me-up!