What is “Unstrung Joy”?

What is “unstrung joy”?

The phrase “unstrung joy” is partially derived/inspired by the phrase “no strings attached”. In short, unstrung joy is joy that has no strings attached. There is no ulterior motive to do the thing that brings you joy besides the fact that, well, it brings you joy.

There is a growing pressure in our society to always be on- to always be productive and to always get results, including if those results are in the gym or in the home, meaning this idea is not restricted to the workplace. Through social media and the comparison culture that is so easily created, this pressure to always be productive has even begun to permeate rest. Yeah, you heard me, rest. 

Rest is supposed to be a time of, well, just that! Rest! A time to rest your mind and body. To sleep, to relax, to lay sideways. To go for a walk because you can listen to a funny podcast. To laugh with friends. To catch up on that tv show you’ve been watching. To read for 2 hours straight. To mess up the dessert you made and to allow space for your brain to dream again. 

This pressure, the one to always be productive and to always be using your time to work towards a goal, affects rest and it affects the way that we view rest. Now, instead of watching your tv show, you’re feeling guilty about watching tv so you’re also doing yoga. Now, every walk has to have a motivation/inspiration podcast or else it’s a waste of time. Now, if you sleep in or nap, you’ve wasted precious time. 

I’m not saying doing these things is always a bad thing. Sure, do yoga and watch tv or listen to your motivational podcast while you walk. But. Make sure you build in time that is simply meant for rest. Time when you don’t feel guilty for laying sideways on the couch. The thing is, if you’re stressed about not being productive while you’re meant to be resting, you’re not actually resting. Read that last sentence again.

This same idea has penetrated joy. And yes, I know, it’s sometimes a blurry line- you play guitar because you like it but also because you want to get better and you go for a run because you want to run that marathon next May. So, the key here is mindset. Don’t let the need to be productive and the need to perform outweigh the need for joy. Practice guitar because you want to get better AND because singing out loud makes you happy. Run this weekend because you need to marathon train AND because it’s a chance to appreciate the outdoors.

Sometimes, maybe think about doing joyful things without any strings attached. Go for a walk simply because you want to, not because you’re working towards being “that girl”. Make a smoothie because you love them, not because it’s the weekend. Read a book for 10 minutes because it’s a freaking good book and not because you need to get in 10 minutes of reading a day.

Just try it. See what happens.

Maybe you do this naturally. Maybe “unstrung joy” is something you don’t even think about. Or maybe you’ve fallen into the trap of only doing things because then you’re one step closer to a goal. Maybe you’re falling towards that trap and can still climb out.