Same But Different?

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I am sure by now,  you are itching to ask - so, is a happy person different from a joyful person?



Let's start off by saying that there is no gloomy joyful person. Someone who is joyful is most certainly happy as well.  Happiness and joy are both feelings of elation.  I'd even go ahead and say that they can be used interchangeably and the image in our mind would be the same. 

Is there no difference then?  There is no difference in meaning, but there is a difference in graduation.  

Comparison:  one person graduates with a Bachelor in Psychology and the other graduates with a degree of Masters in Psychology.  I order a tall frappuccino and the other a grande frappuccino.  You get the picture? 

There are three things that elevate joy over happiness:  Capacity. Stability.  Influence.

Capacity.  A joyful person can contain more happiness in himself.  Let us use this analogy:  If I love you little and I see you, I may be happy to see you.  However, if I love you A LOT, the joy of seeing you will make me giddy, teary-eyed, even ecstatic.  A joyful person experiences happiness in a greater degree because he has more depth and therefore can contain more of that positive feeling. 

Stability.  When a person is joyful, he is not easily swayed by the storms of life because his joy is safely anchored in the reason for his joy.  For example, a joyful person who loses his job will not lose his joy because he knows that he will do anything to have another source of income for his family because he needs to.  A joyful person who experiences heart break will not lose his joy because he knows that loving someone is always worth it, even of the pain.   

Influence.  You just know when you are with a joyful person.  You can feel they are not trying to be happy.  They are effortlessly happy because they have joy inside them.  I spend time with people who just could not wait for the next activity, the next rush, the next achievement, the next breakthrough.  I think what they are waiting for is the next distraction.  A joyful person is someone who makes you feel everything is already alright.  They don't build up happiness.  They are already happy.   As a result, they make you feel more relaxed. They rejuvenate you with their uncomplicated presence.  They support your happiness and make you WANT to be better, happier, more fulfilled, more joyful.  Joyful people can influence you towards well-being.  

The heart of the matter is not the difference between being a happy person and being a joyful person.  The more important question is : What kind of person are you aiming to be? 

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