Remember the rush you felt when you landed the promotion you wanted for years? The moment you got the keys to your own house? Or when you first met your partner? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
These things were once goals. Today, they\u2019re part of your day-to-day reality. And while you\u2019re still grateful for them, chances are, the novelty\u2019s likely worn off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That euphoric feeling in those early days? That\u2019s happiness. It validates effort and rewards progress. But while it\u2019s an essential human emotion, it\u2019s not quite the same as joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJoy is your natural state,\u201d<\/em> says renowned yogi and best-selling author Sadhguru<\/strong> on joy vs. happiness<\/strong>. \u201cIf you are joyful by your own nature, you will do the right things.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Each has its place in your life. And knowing the difference between them is what shifts you from chasing emotional highs to pursuing inner steadiness that lasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Happiness, in short, is your emotional response to something going well in your life. It\u2019s like that sudden feeling of unbridled warmth when you see your name on the offer letter after months of interviews. Or when someone you admire says, \u201cI\u2019m proud of you,\u201d and means it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The brain registers it through dopamine, often called the \u201creward\u201d molecule. And in the happiness vs. joy debate, the feeling of a \u201cwin\u201d is where most people start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a study in JAMA Psychiatry<\/em> investigating the neurochemicals of a \u201chappy\u201d brain<\/a> reveals, dopamine surges when we anticipate or receive what\u2019s rewarding<\/a>. This circuitry reinforces behaviors that lead us to seek the perceived reward again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n All of this to say: happiness, although important, is very much temporary.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n And it\u2019s what Srikumar Rao<\/strong><\/a>, the founder of The Rao Institute, means when he unpacks the transience of this state of mind. \u201cWhen people say they\u2019re happy,\u201d <\/em>he explains in a Mindvalley interview, \u201cwhat they\u2019re really saying is \u2018nothing immediately is bothering me,\u2019\u201d<\/em> debunking any \u201dhappiness\u201d myth<\/a> you may have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This isn\u2019t to say that when you\u2019re happy, you\u2019re pretending. There\u2019s nothing elusive about the feeling you get when something goes your way. In fact, it\u2019s a vital indicator that you feel safe in the moment, with no ominous threats looming to worry about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s also a way, according to Srikumar, to indicate that \u201cmy needs are taken care of.\u201d <\/em>However, the thing about needs is that they keep on coming. Once you satisfy one need, it\u2019s only a brief pause from discomfort before another steps forward for your attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And ultimately, that transience, he adds, \u201cis not joy.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Joy is a steady, ongoing sense of well-being that comes from within. Unlike happiness, which rises and falls with external circumstances, joy is rooted in your inner stability and the way you interpret and respond to life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSuffering or joy\u2014you choose,\u201d<\/em> says Sadhguru<\/a> in his Mindvalley program, A Yogi\u2019s Guide to Joy<\/em>. Curt? Absolutely, but his statement reveals the freeing, inherently accessible nature of this state. You already have it within you, and it\u2019s not something you have to earn, chase, or wait for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Joy is something you remember\u2026 when you\u2019re not constantly reacting to everything outside of you, from the wrong coffee order to the flood of breaking news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At large, you can see this truth embodied in Viktor Frankl\u2019s life. A psychiatrist who survived Nazi concentration camps and lost most of his family, Viktor observed that even in extreme suffering, the freedom to choose one\u2019s mindset remains accessible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEverything,\u201d<\/em> he wrote in his iconic book, A Man\u2019s Search for Meaning<\/em>, \u201ccan be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms\u2014to choose one\u2019s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one\u2019s own way.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n See, despite the horrific pain he\u2019s endured during World War II, Viktor still chose the path of letting go<\/a>. Doing so freed his mind, body, and spirit to experience joy and has since enabled him to rebuild his life and inspire millions worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You don\u2019t have to endure extreme hardship to practice the same principle. When you pause instead of snapping at a friend on a bad day, you\u2019re prioritizing joy. When you adjust without resentment after a plan falls apart, you\u2019re choosing it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And when you can move on without bitterness after a relationship ends? That\u2019s you signing \u201cjoy\u201d as your middle name, again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Srikumar often emphasizes the importance of joy as a sustained state in his work coaching high-achieving executives and entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou cannot solve an internal problem with external action,\u201d<\/em> he says in an exclusive interview with Vishen<\/strong>, the founder and CEO of Mindvalley. Many people, he adds, try to rearrange their circumstances to feel better\u2026 only to discover their inner state remains unchanged. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And Vishen? He knows this road well, having left his engineering job to start his own company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Reflecting on his early entrepreneurial leap to Srikumar, he says, \u201cAll of a sudden I lost my visa, and I had to leave New York City because I couldn\u2019t stay in the U.S.\u201d <\/em>Broken and disoriented, he realized that the experience wasn\u2019t what he expected. \u201cAll of a sudden, I was lonely, because I no longer had the benefit of working from an office with friends around me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Vishen eventually pushed through his entrepreneurial journey. After all, it\u2019s how Mindvalley became a successful personal transformation company that has helped millions of people bump up their personal growth<\/a> worldwide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But his early chapter shows that external upgrades don\u2019t automatically bring internal stability. Joy does\u2014through your commitment to it, in a long-term vision for a meaningful life, no matter what obstacles come your way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Watch Vishen\u2019s interview with Srikumar:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat is happiness?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What is joy?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Embodied joy: A modern story<\/h3>\n\n\n\n