What Emotional States Can We Practice as Queer People to Experience More Joy Every Day?
A Thought Leadership Conversation with Nathan Serrato of Queer Conscious.
"Choosing joy is not about flipping a switch. Choosing joy is a practice of learning to see joy even in the hardest of times and reminding yourself you deserve to experience that joy, despite being programmed to believe otherwise."
It all started with a post on Instagram:
“Choosing joy is not about flipping a switch. Choosing joy is a practice of learning to see joy even in the hardest of times and reminding yourself you deserve to experience that joy, despite being programmed to believe otherwise.”
How Can You Experience More Joy?
Nathan's post got me thinking about how we cultivate joy and what kinds of emotional states make it easier to experience joy, as well as more frequently. Joy can be found in the most mundane things and moments in life, so the more mindful we are of what makes us feel joy, the happier we will be. We both wanted to dive deeper into what joy means and how to get more of it every day — especially as LGBTQ2+ people. We agreed to do our homework and meet to discuss our findings and suggestions on the podcast.
In this episode, we talk about:
- The purpose of emotions and what they tell us
- The dark and the light side of emotions, and in particular the importance of "play" as a social mechanism to experience more connection, confidence, and joy.
- Why the mind is like Velcro for negative experiences and Teflon for positive ones (From Rick Hanson's Buddha’s Brain)
- Why positive thinking doesn't work and what you can do instead.
- I share a perspective on joy from Alan Down, author of The Velvet Rage, that joy tends to be a quick and fleeting emotion. Nathan disagrees and challenges me to consider alternatives.
▶️ Watch the video on my YouTube channel.
About Nathan Serrato
Nathan is an ICF Certified Life Coach, Reiki Practitioner, Yoga Instructor, and Master Practitioner & Trainer in Time Line Therapy®, Hypnotherapy, and NLP; Nathan Serrato helps queer leaders and visionaries in their journeys toward deeper intimacy, spiritual reclamation, and purpose-driven living so that they can fully embody their authentic, gifts and savour the joys of the queerdom along the way.
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