Joy spotting is the simple act of looking for what’s good, beautiful, or alive. It’s mindfulness with a wink.

Here’s the hard truth: joyful design is often treated as a luxury. But joy is an equity issue. Yep.

Our environments are silent teachers. They tell our nervous systems whether to relax or brace.

Why do balloons, blossoms, and bright colors make us smile? Evolution gives us clues.

The “aesthetics of joy” is more than decoration. It’s neuroscience. Ingrid Fetell Lee’s research shows that certain visual patterns such as round shapes, bright colors, abundance, lightness trigger joy responses in our brains.

Let’s be clear: joy isn’t about pretending everything’s fine. Fake joy is the “toxic positivity” that demands smiles when people are hurting. Real joy makes space for sadness, stress, and healing.

Joy isn’t just in your head. It’s in your senses. Neuroscience reminds us that our sensory systems (sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell) feed directly into emotional centers of the brain.

If joy were a vitamin, every teacher and caregiver would need a daily dose. Research shows that small moments of joy change our biology.

Most of us use the words joy and happiness like they’re twins, but according to neuroscience (and probably your last Monday morning staff meeting) they’re not quite the same thing.

We were taught that every good teacher, at the start of every school year, has a beautifully written list of classroom rules ready to go. These are clear expectations about behavior, effort, and respect. Every good educator I know reviews them with students, hangs them neatly on the wall, and feels that satisfying sense of preparedness. But even with all that structure, as a classroom teacher I often felt something was missing, mostly because some kids just chose not to follow the expectations. Some students followed the rules easily, but others didn’t seem to buy in at all. And that’s frustrating.

Every teacher knows the moment when a calm classroom shifts. A student’s eyes narrow, their tone sharpens, their body tenses. Something has triggered them. From that moment forward, the adult’s choices matter. The difference between escalation and recovery often rests on how the teacher responds in those fragile seconds.

When we lose our calm—racing heart, tight chest, scattered thoughts—our brain slips into survival mode. The good news? We can guide ourselves back. By recalling safe memories, places, people, pets, or practices, we activate the body’s natural calming systems and restore balance.

Here are 6 powerful ways to return to regulation.

🚨 Power Struggle in Action 🚨

A 3rd grader stands on a table. The teacher commands, “Get down.” Noah shouts back, “No!”
In that moment, everything hangs on the teacher’s next choice.

One ending spirals into chaos.
The other brings calm.

Where would you pause, rewind, and choose differently?

She tried everything in her usual toolbox: pep talks, reminders, warnings, even a half-class lecture filled with her most motivational lines (and, she admitted, a couple of threats). Still, nothing changed. So she upped the ante: students who turned in quality work on time would earn 10 minutes of free time on Fridays. Those who didn’t? A hit to their grade until work was turned in and improved.

The result? A small boost from the kids who were already doing okay.

The students who were most behind, though, stayed stuck. The lectures started coming more often. The frustration set in. She started waking up at 3am thinking about unfinished assignments and wasted time.

Mrs. Torres was starting her fifth year of teaching, and if she was honest, she felt a little worn down. The past few years had been rough—students talking over her, ignoring directions, tearing up classroom supplies, and treating each other with biting sarcasm. She’d tried everything: stricter rules, clearer consequences, even calling home. But nothing seemed to stick. And it wasn’t just one class—it was all of them. She found herself thinking, What’s wrong with kids today? But somewhere deep down, she wondered if there was a better way.

So this year, on the fifth day of school, she tried something different.

Every afternoon during reading time, Mr. Daniels notices that Jordan, a fifth grader in his class, drifts off into his own world. While the rest of the class reads independently, Jordan pretends to follow along but is instead sneakily playing games on his Chromebook or tapping out rhythms on the desk to entertain nearby students. Redirections are usually met with a grin, a shrug, or a quick denial. It’s tempting to label Jordan as the “class clown,” but Mr. Daniels knows there’s more beneath the surface.

When her school started offering training on restorative practices—specifically, community-building circles—Mrs. Kline was curious, but skeptical. “I already do morning meetings,” she thought. “Do I really need another thing to manage?”

We’ve all said it: “Take a deep breath!”
And let’s be honest… sometimes it works. But sometimes kids just glare at us like, “That’s it? That’s your big idea?”

By February, he was moving through content faster—not because kids were magically obedient, but because he didn’t have to keep putting out a dozen behavior fires before getting to meiosis.

You survived,” she said.

“I did more than survive,” he replied. “They actually learned something. And I did too.”

“Oh yeah? What’d you learn?”

He leaned back in his chair. “That starting with connection doesn’t take away from content—it makes space for it.”

Below are 20 ways—equal parts serious, soul-saving, and slightly silly—to help you really de-stress this summer, support your mental and physical wellness, and prep your spirit for the next lap around the sun.  PLUS, I really like #9!