Why Denying Ourselves Joy Decimates Our Worthiness and Adequacy

When did joy stop being enough?

When did joy become selfish?

Why does every action we take have to have an extrinsic reward?

Whether that be financial, validation from others, or the number of likes and comments we receive.

It’s a belief instilled into us from family, friends, and society that doing something just for ourselves is selfish.

We feel guilty if we experience a massive amount of joy.

We feel guilty if what we’re working on isn’t supporting our family, friends, or company.

We feel guilty if we step out of the norm and create something new. We feel like we’re leaving the others behind.

What message do we send ourselves if we deny ourselves joy?

That we’re not worthy of joy — and others aren’t either.

We perpetuate the cycle of believing joy is selfish.

It’s time to break the cycle.

It’s time we understand that it’s not selfish to devote our time, energy, and attention to an activity we love doing.

It’s quite the opposite of selfishness.