Why Do I Feel Low? The 4 Biggest Joy Thieves

We’re made to be joyful. The first thing a newborn baby feels is joy; it’s our birthright. But as we grow up, we get caught in spells that keep us low. Here are the four most common thieves of joy, and the one practice that helps against all of them.

1. Fear

Fear is a tool people use to control you. Someone wants you to do something, so they paint a frightening picture of what happens if you don’t. You see all the bad scenarios, believe them, and do exactly what they wanted.

It happens on a big scale, in the media’s constant stream of crashes and deaths, and on a small scale, between partners and friends. Remember the old acronym: F.E.A.R. = False Evidence Appearing Real.

Fear lives in your head. When you drop out of your head and into your heart, through meditation, you can feel love there, and fear becomes too small to control you. Challenges stop scaring you; they make you grow.

2. Shame

People who’ve lost their own joy often try to take yours. They remind you of your past: your mistakes, the small person you were before you knew where you were going. The more you overthink it, the more ashamed you feel.

Meditation shows you that shame is just thoughts looping in your head. Let your heart lead, and you’re free of it.

3. Guilt

Guilt about things you have nothing to do with, sometimes even things you never did. Manipulative people use it to keep you in your head, regretting the past, instead of in the present moment, which is the only place joy can be felt.

4. Jealousy

In the video I explain why jealous people can’t feel joy (and try to steal yours), why you can’t feel jealous and proud of yourself at the same time, and why five minutes of “winning” against someone isn’t worth 23 hours and 55 minutes of feeling low. Let others shine their light. Shine yours.

If you’ve been feeling low for a long time, please also talk to someone you trust or a professional. You don’t have to carry it alone.