***** TRY CARRYING A TAPE RECORDER AND RECORD YOUR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS FOR A DAY. Then listen to yourself. Do you awaken in peace, or in a frenzy of pressure? Have you made others feel good? Have you caused anyone pain? Are you living the way you want to live? Has this day gone the way in which you planned?

***** CHOOSE A RECREATION AND WORK THAT FIT YOUR NOTION OF WHAT REALLY MATTERS TO YOU. Take time to examine how what you do relates to what you really value. Trap: Deriving your self-esteem from your ability to cope with what you do, rather than the fact of enjoying what you do.

***** LEARN FROM THE JOYFUL PEOPLE YOU KNOW OR HAVE KNOW. Consider what sets these people apart from others. Joyful people have broken free from traditional limits, and are able to exercise choices that others delay.

***** TAKE RISKS FOR WHAT YOU VALUE. Dying patients often express regret that they had not made a choice for personal meaning. Examples: "I always wanted to hike the Rocky Mountains." "I wish I had moved when I had the chance." Remember, joy is a choice, not a result. Trap: Mistaking intensity for meaning...and confusing the notion of "success" with meaning.

*****SPEND MORE TIME DOING WHAT YOU LOVE. Guard against the "virgin syndrome", i.e. always being on the verge of making that choice, but never finding the courage or security to make the change. Examine your fears! How real are they...or are they only excuses we make to ourselves for not taking risks?

*****SMILE AND LAUGH. Current research indicates that our emotions follow our facial expressions. Smiles and laughter increase the blood supply to the brain. To learn to be more joyful, we must first think and behave more joyfully.

*****UNDERSTANDING JOY IS A HEALTHY CHOICE. Joy and laughter boost our immune system . Trap: Thinking that being healthy is doing...rather than recognizing that being healthy is being. It's not what you do that makes you healthy; it's how you are.