5 Reasons You Should Choose Joy Over Happiness

People commonly believe part of their purpose in life is to pursue happiness. They pursue external things to make them feel happy and this can be a dangerous thing to do. Our culture is addicted to being happy but, unlike joy, happiness is never enough, leaves people wanting more, and eventually becomes all consuming to the point where they’re actually not happy.

Enter in joy and why you should choose it over happiness.

Similar but not really

Let’s start with a breakdown of what joy and happiness are. Although they similarly deal with contentment, satisfaction, and gladness, they’re not the same.

Understand the source

Simply put, the source of joy is internal and the source of happiness is external.

What does this actually mean?

Think of it this way: joy is the ability to have delight and be glad in spite of one’s external circumstances. It’s a spiritual product – a piece of the fruit of the Spirit I call it – which means it doesn’t germinate from external factors (ie. your roles, possessions, experiences) and is unaffected by these same external factors.

Contrarily, happiness is a feeling of contentment, satisfaction, pleasure, and all things “good” because of one’s external circumstances. It’s an emotional by-product of your relationships and the positions you hold, the things you own and possess, your successes, and the things you go through in life.

Being and reacting

The source of joy and happiness links to why one of these is a state of being versus the other is a reaction.

Can you guess which one?

Happiness is the unconscious or conscious reaction to the circumstances of your life – your happenings. Without even thinking about it, you can feel pleasure and contentment because of certain external factors. You could be more mindful of your happenings and consciously make the effort to find satisfaction and contentment. However, even on purpose, your happiness would still be in response to something happening. It would still be a reaction, albeit an intentional one.

Joy, on the other hand, isn’t a reaction but a state of being in constant gladness and delight. It can be an ever-present spiritual fruit manifested in every aspect of your inner person regardless of how your life is going.

The reasons

Now that you know what joy and happiness are, you have a decision to make. You can pursue happiness or you can live a joy-filled life. The choice is yours… but I suggest the latter.

So, why should you choose joy over happiness?

#1 – Truly good

Happiness is a feeling of contentment that occurs when the self is satisfied. Inherently, happiness is all about making yourself feel good. Someone may feel satisfied helping their neighbour or exercising. The same person can also feel good getting drunk on a regular basis or get a thrill out of gossiping about their colleague. Maybe they experience bliss with a hot bath after a long day at work or feel bliss getting high on their drug of choice.

See where this is going?

Happiness can be based on whatever you want it to be because it’s about what makes you feel elated, content, pleasured, and satisfied. Whether what makes you happy is inherently good or bad or helps or harms yourself and others – it doesn’t matter. You do you and pursue your own idea of contentment.

Which means there’s no set standard for happiness.

But there is for joy and it’s a standard of goodness that includes loving others. Joy is not at the expense of your spirit, soul, and body or anyone else’s but based on true goodness – lovingkindness and what is morally right.

Want to go deeper into the True source of joy and live a joy-filled life? My FREE faith-based devotional study Cultivate (Joy & Peace) will help you understand where joy comes from, barriers to being joyful and how to overcome those barriers.

#2 – Dwells within

Happiness is a reaction to something external and because of that it is only momentary. Happiness is only found where that external circumstance is found. Take the role, possession, or experience away that’s making a person feel happy and watch their happiness go with it.

Then what do people next? They chase.

People will spend their lives chasing one thing after another to get their next dose of contentment and satisfaction. Once they have it, the happiness comes but it doesn’t last. Maybe a minute, maybe years, but it eventually fades. And so the addictive pattern of living a happy life continues.

Since joy is a state of being with an internal source, it can continuously be produced without chasing external factors. Like a fruit doesn’t have to chase the seed that dwells within it, you’re capable of living a joy-filled life because you can get the source of joy to dwell within.

And when that source is internal and allowed to flourish, you can always be full of gladness and delight.

#3 – Staying power

Because happiness is a by-product of external factors, the feeling is difficult to maintain when you’re going through a rough time in your life. It truly is hard to feel happy when your life enters a difficult season, when your values are jeopardized, when your thoughts are going haywire, and when your identity is attacked. Happiness just can’t sustain you.

But joy has staying power.

You can have complete joy in a hardship or trial because your joy isn’t connected to the circumstances of your life. Remember, it dwells within and has an internal source separate from your roles, possessions, experiences and lack thereof. Unlike happiness that flees at the sight of trials and buckles under the weight of tribulations, joy remains and its staying power can be your strength.

#4 – Healthier

You can’t be happy all the time. Agree or disagree?

I used to strongly disagree with this statement. I’d think to myself “well what’s better, being sad or angry instead?” and so I chased after happiness to keep myself from feeling anything else.

Eventually it felt like I was being fake and my health was suffering as a result of ignoring my feelings instead of dealing with them. I wouldn’t let other people or myself see my other emotions because I just wanted to feel happy all the time. Thus in the process of trying to feel happiness 24/7, I didn’t feel much at all.

Joy isn’t like that.  A person can be joyful and still feel sad, tired, frustrated, or more at the same time.

Why is this a reason to choose joy?

Your feelings are a result of your thoughts about your external circumstances. If you choose happiness all the time, you’re also choosing to ignore the thoughts that are nurturing other feelings, which can be detrimental to your mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health. Since joy is everlasting and doesn’t compete with any feeling that pops up, you’re free to consider every emotion you have and the thoughts fostering them without losing your joy. You’re a more mindful person as a result, able to address and take every scary, bitter, angry, depressed, lonely thought captive while still having a life full of gladness and delight.

Trust me, this is a much healthier way to live.

#5 – Linked to peace

Most people pursuing happiness expect peace to follow. I have never met someone who wants to feel happy with the intention of making their life more stressful, dysfunctional, and hectic. Still, this can occur depending on what their happiness is based on.

Happiness might get you momentary calmness, tranquility, and ease of life but it’s not connected to true peace.

And you guessed it: joy is.

True peace is not the absence of calamity, struggle, and busyness because that would make peace connected to external factors (of which it isn’t tied to). True peace, like joy, is internally sourced and is another piece of that spiritual fruit joy is part of. Joy and peace are linked together and if you desire wholeness, a complete life, you’ll choose joy.

In the same package where joy exists, peace is found.

Happiness ain’t all bad

Please don’t leave this post thinking it’s bad to be happy because it’s not. Happiness isn’t a no-go area. However, I’ll challenge you to reflect on these two questions:

Is what makes you happy connected to your core values? Happiness is a reaction to your roles, possessions, and experiences, which should be linked to what you deem important. Ensure your feelings of satisfaction and contentment are based on your core values and worldview.

What are your thoughts focused on? Feelings in general are reactions stemming from one’s thoughts. Challenge negative thinking and beliefs and don’t let your feelings dictate what you value or how you view the world.

If you want to go deeper into the True source of joy and live a joy-filled life, my FREE faith-based devotional study Cultivate (Joy & Peace) can help. With this resource you’ll discover where joy and peace come from, how to cultivate them in your life, barriers to both and how to overcome those barriers.

And as always, comment below what you think and share this post with your friends!