Good Vibes Only (Sort Of): 5 Ways to Cultivate More Joy in Your Everyday Life
The internet is swimming with contradictory advice on how to “live your best life,” but when you’re exhausted, overwhelmed or just trying to remember if you drank enough water today, the idea of joy can feel a bit out of reach. At be.retreats, we’re big believers in small shifts that lead to big changes. You don’t need to overhaul your life to feel better - but you do deserve to feel more positivity and moments of genuine joy in your day-to-day life.
Here are 5 low-effort, high-impact ways to invite more positivity into your life.
1. Start Small
Joy doesn’t have to look like a big milestone that we rave about on social media. Sometimes, it’s the way your morning coffee tastes when you drink it without rushing, or the feeling of clean bedsheets after a long day. Train your brain to notice the good stuff, even if it’s small.
At the end of each day, try to jot down three things that made you smile. A stranger smiling at you on the train, a completed to-do list at work, baking your favourite sweet treat for dessert. Over time, your brain will start looking for more of those joyful moments as they happen.
2. Protect Your Peace
Not everything (or everyone) deserves access to your energy. One of the most powerful ways to invite more joy into yourself is to gently let go of what drains you - whether that’s doom scrolling on the internet, an overcrowded schedule, or conversations that leave you feeling small.
Ask yourself: what can I say no (or yes!) to this week that will give me even a little more space to breathe?
3. Make Time for Movement
We’re not talking about a 6am bootcamp (unless you want to). Movement doesn’t have to be intense to be powerful. Go outside for a walk, stretch in your living room while you watch TV, dance around the kitchen when cooking. Joy lives in the body and moving yours can shake off stress and help you return to yourself.
On all of our retreats, we always make time for movement. Our exercise and stetch sessions are optional because we don’t move for performance, but for pleasure and the genuine satisfaction of we all feel after.
4. Surround Yourself With the Right People
You know the ones - the people who light you up, make you laugh, and leave you feeling more like yourself. Spend time with those people. Call them. Text them. Build your own tiny joy network.
And remember - connection is a key pillar at be.retreats for a reason — joy multiplies when it’s shared.
5. Create Pockets of Presence
Joy rarely comes when we’re running on autopilot. Try carving out intentional moments in your day to pause - even if it’s for 60 seconds. Breath, check in with how you’re feeling. Step outside. Put your phone down. Meditate. Disconnect.
These little pauses help you feel more rooted and alive, which is the real foundation of sustainable happiness.
Cultivating joy isn’t about ignoring the hard stuff. It’s about creating space to hold both - the messy and the magical - with a little more kindness toward yourself along the way.
At be.retreats, our experiences are built around this balance. We hold space for rest, reflection, movement, connection - and yes, real joy. Whether you’re on a be.retreat in Sicily or Sri Lanka or simply sitting in your kitchen alone, the sentiment is the same: you deserve to feel good in your own life.
