Joyful with Ingrid Fetell Lee

You can bring joy into your physical spaces at home and at work, and in doing so, bring joy into your life! Research shows that your physical surroundings actually influence your emotional and mental states of being. 

Ingrid Fetell Lee, author of the #1 best-selling book, Joyful, discusses the power of bringing joy into the aesthetics of your environment. Ingrid and Matt talk about the power of joy and how you can manifest it into your life through your surroundings.

Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation: 

• The link between our surroundings and our mental health

• How to be courageous with color 

• The joyful aesthetics of the home

• How to bring joy into your aesthetics at work

• Bringing play into your spaces

• How to create a sense of abundance with your environment

• How judgment holds back joy

[03:23] The Link Between Our Surroundings and Our Mental Health

Our unconscious minds are absorbing information about our surroundings, through what we see, feel, smell, or hear. All of those sensations give us information about how safe, settled, calm, exciting, or joyful the environment feels. The more that we understand those sensations and the more that we understand the connection, the better we can set ourselves up for well-being.

[15:39] Incorporating Play Into Your Space

If you think about play, and you look at a child's world, there's one shape that starts to come out more than anything else – the circle or the sphere. For instance, there are a million different things you can do with a ball, hence, it’s the most playful shape. Research shows that angular, sharp shapes create a heightened sense of unconscious caution and we're not as relaxed. We don't want that in our homes, so bringing in more of those round shapes can help with that sense of ease.

[20:42] How to Create a Sense of Abundance With Our Aesthetics

A huge contributor to feeling joy on a daily basis is an abundance mindset. And we live in this society that is constantly conditioning us to scarcity and competition, and feeling like we don't have enough. But joy is not a zero-sum game. You can have more joy and it doesn't take joy from anyone else. It is a self-reinforcing thing and it has a positive feedback loop.

Notable quotes:

29:40] One of the biggest things that hold us back from joy is judgment. [20:43]

[20:42] A huge contributor to feeling joy on a daily basis is… being able to find an abundance mindset. [20:48] 

[21:10] Joy is not a zero-sum game... you can have more joy and it doesn't take joy from anyone else. [21:16]

Resources Mentioned: 

The Aesthetics of Joy

Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness

TED Talk: Whey joy hides and how to find it

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THE GOOD MOOD SHOW Podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, Anchor, and more… About the Guest 

Ingrid Fetell Lee is the founder of The Aesthetics of Joy, where she empowers people to find more joy in their daily life through design. Ingrid has 17 years of experience in the design and branding world, working with huge brands like Target and Conde Nast, and IDEO. Her TED Talk, Where joy hides and how to find it, has been viewed more than 17 million times.