All my life I just laid down and took it. A few good things came my way, but never any joy.
There is joy in standing up for the little people who cannot stand up for themselves.
Joy isn't something you pick off a tree like an apple. It is a gift.
Joy is not a gift. It is a learned skill and a rigid discipline of mind for those of us not born with the genetic makeup for it to be natural.
Rid your life of downers.
That means people who put you down and don't know how to laugh and who don't appreciate your special qualities.
Write down all the things you feel obligated to do and have a heart to heart with yourself about whether you are really obligated or just didn't have the strength to say no, or are trying to keep up some false impression of yourself with people who don't really care about you.
Write down things you genuinely enjoy doing, and do them instead of your false obligations.
Make a point several time a day to do something that brings a smile, a laugh or a sense of relief and escape.
Cultivate joy.
It will never be given to you.
Seize it.
Horse hockey.
Mark Twain said it best.....
"People are about as happy as they want to be."
Read the "Screwtape Letters" by C. S. Lewis.
I can tell you what real joy is. It is losing a beloved daughter before her time and finding out you can still smile. Her birthday is on June 2---the 2nd year without her. Even in the midst of heart wrenching grief, I can smile!! That is what she would want me to do.