What do you think of when you think of the word "joy?"

Chances are you think of joy as something wonderful … yet almost unattainable. Joy is often thought of as a far-off fantasy that doesn’t exist in real life. Like it’s something precious set aside for an elite club of lucky people … and you weren’t invited to join.

But that’s not the case. You are capable of experiencing joy and all the wonderful things that come along with it. You’re just looking in the wrong places.

If you were to look it up in the dictionary it would not say, "Joy: finding your soul mate and living happily ever after," or "Joy: making a million dollars a year." (Even though those are the things you may think will make you happy.) What it does say is: "Joy: a source or cause of keen pleasure or delight; something or someone greatly valued or appreciated."

That’s it. That’s the big secret.

Joy is simply something that can make you smile or something you’re grateful for in your life. You can find joy in the things you have and the things you do every day, whether it’s the scent of your favorite perfume, the purr of your kitten, wearing your favorite shirt, hugging a sweet child or chatting with a good friend over coffee.

But you may not realize that you’re surrounded by joy until you allow yourself to recognize the good around you. Recognizing good multiplies good. The more reasons you notice to be grateful, the more you’ll experience the beauty and joy of life.

People are constantly looking for the bigger, better deal and are unhappy with the circumstances within their lives because they feel what they have isn’t good enough. There’s that nagging feeling that there’s so much more out there that they’re not experiencing. This is not the path to joy.

It’s always good to set goals and steadily improve yourself, but it’s crucial to enjoy life along the way. Otherwise, you’ll always be looking for joy … but never find it. Take time to show gratitude for what you have, and before you know it, joy will reflect back to you everywhere you look.

When I was in rehab 10 years ago, I realized how being grateful could attract more into my life. I went there with the clothes on my back as did most of the women there. Every couple of weeks, professional women would donate clothes and they would bring them to us in plastic bags. Most of the women in the facility would fight over the items or complain about the quality of what was being donated. But, I would always thank the professional ladies for the one or two items that were left and I treated them like they came straight from a designer store. After a while, the professional women would save the nicer items for me personally and bring them to me on the side. At my lowest point, I was shown that being grateful can multiply results and those results provided more joy.

Today I want you to try something. Look closely at the experiences in your life with a grateful eye and ask joy to reveal itself to you. It’s there … you just have to open your eyes to see. Remember, the first part is action. Be grateful and joyful results will show up.

Joy is everywhere. Try it. You’ll see.