39. The Difference Between Happiness and Joy, and Why It Matters

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hey guys! Chris and Melissa here; recently, Chris had a conversation with a friend about finding happiness. It got him thinking about the actual definition of what it means to be happy. When we think of it, most of us think of it in terms of our kids. You’ve heard it before, “I just want them to be happy.” Maybe you have even said it yourself. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But what is the difference between temporary happiness and lasting joy? </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you’ve been listening for a while, you know that we believe in leading by example. For us, this was a moment where we could really dig into how and why joy is different from happiness. We talk about Chris’ family and history with substance abuse and how it has affected the saying “I deserve happiness.” Of course, we don’t think that people shouldn’t be happy, but there are different types of happiness if you think about it. It’s similar to if you want the pleasure of eating a delicious piece of cake now or if you want the confidence of a healthy and strong body. Both are good, but one is better.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Listen in as we discuss our thoughts on joy and how understanding the true definition can help raise stronger, happier, and more confident kids. We talk about examples in our own lives of finding joy even in the toughest of times and a moment when prioritizing our own happiness actually caused more damage. You’ll learn what we think are the biggest differences between joy and happiness and how we plan to start defining it to our kids. We discuss the concept of sacrificing temporary happiness now to get lasting joy later and how we can be the best example of that to our kids as parents. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So this week, take some time to examine your life and see where you might be choosing temporary happiness over lasting joy. The journey of internal happiness starts with you. So go out, find joy, and we’ll be