Somewhere between email overload, three different streaming subscriptions, and ordering dinner from an app because we’re too tired to cook the food we ordered from another app, a lot of us quietly lost something: the ability to feel genuinely happy about small, ordinary moments.
Remember how exciting it used to be to get a new sticker, or a handwritten note, or a snack after school? Now a package arrives and we’re like, “What did Past Me buy this time?” and toss the box aside like it’s nothing.
If life has started to feel a bit dull, flat, or like everything needs to be “aesthetic” or “content-worthy” to count, it might be time for a reset. A softer one. A slower one. A journey back to finding joy in simple things.
Let’s talk about how to actually do that—without pretending we live in a cottage in the woods with no Wi-Fi.
1. Notice What You’re Numbing With Noise
We live in a world where feeling slightly bored for more than two minutes is illegal (emotionally, at least). Phone out. Scroll. Distract. Repeat.
But simple joy lives in the exact place we’ve been avoiding: the quiet, uncurated, in-between moments.
Ask yourself:
- How often do you reach for your phone while:
- Waiting for the kettle to boil
- Sitting on the bus
- Standing in line
- Lying in bed, already tired, but scrolling anyway
Those tiny moments are actually invitations. They’re the micro-gaps where you can:
- Notice the light on your wall
- Listen to background sounds
- Feel your body breathe
- Let your thoughts wander without a destination
Simple joy can’t get in if every empty second is filled with noise.
Try this:
Next time you catch yourself auto-opening an app, pause for just 30 seconds. Look around. Notice one thing that feels pleasant or interesting. That’s it. That’s the muscle you’re trying to rebuild.
2. Romanticize Ridiculously Small Things
Yes, we’re doing this. Yes, it’s cringey. Yes, it actually helps.
You don’t need a 3-week trip to Europe to feel something again. You can start with mundane moments and treat them like mini scenes from a movie.
Some ideas:
- Making coffee or tea
- Choose a mug you love
- Pour slowly
- Smell it before you drink it
- Take one sip with no screen, just taste
- Taking a shower
- Dim the lights or turn on a lamp
- Put on one chill song
- Notice how the water feels on your shoulders
- Getting into bed
- Smooth the blanket
- Fluff the pillows
- Take one deep breath and actually register,
“This feels good. I’m safe. I’m done for today.”
It sounds small, but that’s the point. Joy isn’t always loud—sometimes it’s a quiet, gentle yes.
3. Build Tiny “Daily Delights”
Instead of waiting for big events to feel happy, create small daily checkpoints of joy. Think of them as emotional snacks.
They don’t have to be impressive. In fact, they shouldn’t be. The simpler, the better.
You could try:
- A 5-minute stretch after work with your favorite song
- A “sunlight break” where you stand by a window and just exist
- Lighting a candle before you read, even if you only read for 10 minutes
- Eating one snack slowly, like it’s a tasting menu moment
The trick: repeat them often enough that your brain starts to look forward to them.
Over time, your internal dialogue shifts from “today was nothing special” to “oh yeah, I still get that cozy 10 minutes tonight.”
4. Lower the Bar for What “Counts”
A lot of us accidentally made joy… complicated.
We tell ourselves:
- If it’s not productive, it’s a waste of time
- If it’s not Instagrammable, it doesn’t “count”
- If it’s not a big shift, it’s not real change
But simple joy thrives when you stop treating your life like a performance review.
Let things count even if they’re:
- Brief
- Messy
- Not aesthetic
- Not improving anything
Some things that absolutely count:
- Laughing at a dumb meme in your group chat
- The first sip of iced coffee on a hot day
- Warm socks straight from the dryer
- That one song that makes your brain go, “Oh, this. This is my life’s soundtrack now.”
You are allowed to be deeply pleased by small, “unimpressive” things. That’s not immaturity; that’s emotional resilience.
5. Move Slower On Purpose (Even Just Once a Day)
Simple things feel flat when we’re rushing past them.
You don’t have to move slowly all day (we’re not in a toothpaste ad), but try choosing one part of your day to move more slowly on purpose.
For example:
- Walk a little slower on your way home
- Eat your breakfast without multitasking
- Fold laundry as if it’s a calm ritual, not a race
It’s not about being “zen” 24/7. It’s about giving your nervous system a moment to register:
“Hey, we’re not in danger. It’s okay to enjoy this.”
The more often your brain gets that message, the easier it becomes to feel joy when nothing “big” is happening.
6. Practice Noticing — Out Loud
Sometimes, we speed past simple joys because we don’t name them. Saying them out loud (or writing them down) helps your brain file them under “this matters.”
Try this mini habit:
At some point in the day, say or think:
- “This is nice.”
- “I like this.”
- “I’m glad I’m here for this moment.”
For example:
- When the light hits your room in a pretty way
- When your pet curls up next to you
- When you’re laughing with a friend over something stupid
You’re not trying to force gratitude. You’re just labeling micro-moments of joy so your brain doesn’t treat them as background noise.
7. Give Your Inner Child Some Screen Time
Not doom-scroll time. Play time.
Ask yourself:
“What did I love as a kid that I’ve quietly abandoned?”
Was it:
- Drawing
- Collecting things
- Reading fantasy
- Playing dress-up
- Building random stuff out of nothing
Pick one and bring it back in a tiny way:
- Doodle while on a call
- Re-read a childhood book
- Buy fun stickers and put them on literally unnecessary things
- Wear something slightly ridiculous at home just because it makes you happy
You don’t have to be “good” at it. The goal isn’t skill, it’s spark.
8. Let Yourself Be “Easily Pleased”
There’s this unspoken flex in our culture:
Being hard to impress. Being unbothered. Being chill to the point of… not really feeling much.
But what if we flipped that?
What if you became the person who is:
- Weirdly delighted by good bread
- Excited about a comfy chair
- Happy because the sky looked cute today
Being “easily pleased” doesn’t mean your standards are low. It means your capacity for joy is high.
And in a world that constantly tells you to want more, strive more, buy more, be more—
finding joy in simple things is a quiet, radical act.
Final Thought
You don’t have to move to a cabin, delete social media, or suddenly love every single moment of your life. You’re allowed to be tired, annoyed, and over it sometimes.
But in between all of that, you can start to gently rebuild this skill:
Letting small, simple, ordinary things be enough to make you smile.
One cup of tea.
One ray of light.
One joke shared.
One deep breath that actually feels good.
That’s how you rediscover joy in simple things—not all at once, but one tiny, soft moment at a time.
