Jessica Janzen’s philosophy on how to bring joy began during one of the hardest periods of her life. After her young son Lewiston was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, her family was told there was no cure or treatment and that their time with him would be limited. While walking outside Alberta Children’s Hospital with her husband, Janzen had a thought: they were going to “bring the joy.” She did not know exactly what that meant yet. Soon after, a friend brought a Bluetooth speaker into the hospital room, and a simple dance party with their children gave the idea a shape.
For Janzen, the lesson was not that people should pretend difficult circumstances are good. It was almost the opposite. Sometimes, she explains, you have to be responsible for bringing joy into a difficult situation. That distinction became the foundation of her approach to finding joy during hard times.
“Choose joy” can sound simple when life is going well. Janzen’s experience taught her that it can feel very different when you are facing something you never would have chosen. Her approach begins with what she and host Dr. Greg Wells describe as radical acceptance: acknowledging the situation you are actually in rather than denying it. From there, you can decide how you want to show up within that reality.
For Janzen, grief and joy are not opposites. She could feel sadness, anger, frustration and sorrow while still deliberately creating moments that felt good. She describes these as “pockets of joy” and believes that sometimes it becomes our responsibility to bring those moments into our lives. Bringing joy does not require you to erase difficult emotions. It means making room for something good alongside them.
Janzen describes another shift that happened during her son’s illness. She stopped wanting to simply respond to the emotional “temperature” around her and instead wanted to help set it. She knew people entering the hospital room would naturally feel the weight of what her family was experiencing. But if the time with her son was limited, she did not want every moment to feel dark and heavy. She wanted people to experience joy with him too.
That principle can apply to much more ordinary moments as well. You cannot always control what is happening around you, but you can consider what energy you are contributing to the situation. Instead of simply reacting to the mood of a room, Janzen encourages people to think about how they can influence it.
Another part of Janzen’s practice is what she calls “curated consumption.” She talks about consumption broadly. It is not only what you eat, but also what you watch, what you listen to, who you spend time with and the kinds of conversations happening around you.
Janzen intentionally limits content that she knows can pull her into a negative mental state. At the same time, she seeks out stories and people that inspire her and help her see what is possible. This does not mean shutting out every difficult subject. Instead, her approach is about becoming more conscious of what you repeatedly put into your environment and how it affects the way you show up.
That includes relationships. Janzen speaks about surrounding herself with people who take care of themselves physically and mentally, encourage one another and create a sense of connection. The people and environments around us can influence our mindset, which makes choosing those environments intentionally an important part of her approach.
When Wells asks Janzen how someone can begin taking a step toward joy, one of her first recommendations is practical: go to a group fitness class. It could be dancing, lifting weights, joining a run club or another form of movement that gets you around people who are also taking care of themselves.
Janzen also makes it clear that movement does not have to mean an intense workout. During the conversation, she gives examples as simple as walking outside, lifting weights or having a dance party in the kitchen. The key is not perfection. If travel, work or life disrupts her routine for a week, she does not use that as a reason to quit altogether. She simply returns to it.
That same approach can make practicing joy feel more realistic. You do not have to create an ideal routine and follow it perfectly. You can keep coming back to small actions that help you feel more present, connected and engaged with your life.
One of Janzen’s simplest mental reframes is the idea that powerful thoughts lead to powerful actions. She explains this through an everyday example of driving her children somewhere while her mind starts running through everything else she should be doing.
Instead of treating that drive as wasted time, she tries to reframe it as time she gets to spend with her children. When she notices herself spiralling into thoughts about not keeping up or having too much to do, she pauses and asks whether the thought is powerful and whether it serves her.
The goal is not to pretend the to-do list has disappeared. It is to notice when your thoughts are pulling you completely out of the moment you are actually living. A traffic jam might still be a traffic jam, but it could also be an opportunity to have a conversation with your child that you would have missed if your attention remained locked on frustration.
Connection comes up repeatedly throughout the interview. For Janzen, group fitness is not only about exercise. It puts her around other people. Her Friday routine includes working out with a group and then getting coffee together.
Instead of keeping the conversation at the surface, she sometimes asks everyone at the table one question and has the group listen to each person’s answer. The questions can be playful or more reflective. That turns an ordinary coffee into an opportunity for people to know one another better.
You do not necessarily need an established group to try the same idea. The larger principle in Janzen’s approach is to participate. Move closer instead of staying completely on the sidelines. Say hello, give someone a high five or start a conversation. Those small points of connection are part of how she practices joy rather than simply waiting for it to appear.
When Janzen talks about periods when she has struggled herself, one of the strategies she returns to is service. Her advice is to make it not about yourself. For her, true service means giving without expecting recognition or even expecting the act to make you feel better. You help because you can help.
Later in the interview, she gives a simple example. At a coffee shop, Janzen felt compelled to tell a stranger that she liked his glasses. She gave the compliment and went on with her day. She later learned that the man was undergoing cancer treatment and struggling with his appearance. His wife had posted about the interaction because the unexpected compliment had changed his mood that day.
Janzen’s takeaway was not that every compliment will lead to a dramatic story. It was that you may never know what a small act means to someone else. A simple gesture can have an impact that you may never see.
Near the end of the interview, Wells asks Janzen for one practice people can install in their daily lives. Her answer is simple: start complimenting people. Not vague flattery, but an honest and specific compliment offered without expecting anything in return.
It is a fitting example of Janzen’s broader philosophy. Bringing joy does not always require changing your circumstances. It can mean accepting the moment you are in, paying attention to your thoughts, moving your body, choosing your environment carefully, connecting with another person or giving someone an unexpected moment of kindness.
You do not have to feel joyful every second to practice joy. You simply have to notice where you have an opportunity to bring some. Today, that opportunity might be as small as telling someone something genuinely good that you noticed about them.
