Joy vs. pleasure

I recently listened to a podcast* that totally rocked my world. It put a new perspective on my drinking and over-eating.

The podcast talked about the difference between JOY and PLEASURE.

◾ Pleasure = enjoyment obtained from something external or outside of yourself. Example: Food, smoking, drugs, alcohol, massages, pedicures, TV, etc. Pleasure is temporary.

◾ Joy = happiness obtained from within. Joy can last forever.

Joy comes from a relationship with ourselves – mainly from our thoughts. Remember, our thoughts create our feelings – so that totally makes sense!

In fact, our desire & need for pleasure can BLOCK us from experiencing joy. Especially when the pleasure has negative consequences.

🎤Mic drop🎤

For me, this is what really hit me:

🥂 Drinking: I thought by drinking all the time, I was experience joy. So much joy! But it was completely temporary. And boy did it have negative consequences – shame, guilt, hangovers, & regret (to name a few). And now that I’m sober, I know how much REAL joy it was blocking. In sobriety, I am experiencing true genuine joy by connecting to all of my true genuine thoughts and feelings.

🍦 Food: It’s the same for overindulging in food. I thought it was making me happy because it tasted so good. But afterward, my blood sugar would go high, I’d gain weight, and I’d feel absolutely HORRIBLE. And did I even ENJOY it? How often have you mindlessly eaten something and afterward thought – did I even taste that? It was temporary and most definitely not real joy.

NOW – once you find true joy, there is nothing wrong with sprinkling some positive pleasures on top – a good massage, a relaxing pedicure, & most of you know my obsession with TV!

What’s important is to not overindulge in negative pleasures and mistake them with true joy.

If you need help differentiating between them, and learning how to create joy, I can help! Schedule a consult with me and let’s chat. 

*Curious about the podcast? Check out Brooke Castillo @ The Life Coach School (where I received my Life Coach certification!). Episode 95