With all the vaccinations happening across the globe, I started wondering. If there is a vaccine now for COVID, then what would it be for joy? Is it possible to get injected with something that will ensure that you will experience joy?

The first obvious problem with my thinking is that you get a vaccination to protect you against something, not to have you contract it! Duh!

But then I was thinking some more. Amazing what those grey cells are capable of once they get started. My experience has shown that you can live a positive life, above the line and all that, and, depending on whether your expectations and what you experience in real life are in balance, you can be happy in the moment. That happiness sustained over time should lead to joy eventually.

And then the penny dropped for me.

If you want to accelerate the process, there is one sure-fire way that has worked for me in the past. If I stop focussing on me, and focus on the other person and delight in their growth and learning and how I can help, I start feeling worthy, fulfilled and pretty soon filled with joy! I’m on purpose and feel I make a positive contribution. It’s a place of joy.

So, the injection that accelerates joy for me is more like an injection of positivity and connection. A vaccine against disconnection and loneliness, that can lead to depression and despair. It fights all these negatives. I would like to encourage you to use this every day. Reach out to others. Get curious about their journeys and how you can help them. Serve them selflessly and the joy will be yours in the end!