Choose Joy: Relieve Burnout, Focus on Your Happiness, and Infuse More Joy into Your Everyday Life

by Sophie Cliff

Protect yourself from burnout and find the balance you've been craving in this chaotic world.

Maybe you’re feeling exhausted, both mentally and physically, from the last few years and all of the uncertainty and change that came with them. Maybe you’re feeling overwhelmed and struggling to meet the constant demands on your time. Maybe you’re finding it difficult to connect with the things that once added joy and meaning to your life. Or maybe you can’t even remember what those things were. If you relate to one (or more!) of those statements, certified positive psychology practitioner Sophie Cliff is here to help. 

Choose Joy's research, insights, and exercises will help you:
• Reduce stress and change how you react to it (because busy schedules will never go away)
• Uncover what really matters to you, not what your family or society tells you should matter
• Identify your core values and develop a new approach to achieving your goals
• Boost your self-confidence and realize that you're worthy of all the joy you've been dreaming about

Research tells us that joy has a whole host of health benefits and now using the tools in this book, you can start taking the necessary daily steps toward building a life that lights you up instead of drags you down.

“Choose Joy is an empathetic and empowering resource for anyone struggling with burnout and self-limiting beliefs. The practical advice Sophie offers is something that we can all benefit from." - Mary Jelkovsky, bestselling author of The Gift of Self-Love

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction

184 pages, Hardcover

Published November 8, 2022

Reviews

[Jess Massey]

recommend!

[Kali Hostetter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is more for my corporate world, high achieving lost girlies than my helping-profession burnout girlies.

[Abbey Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book felt so authentic & catered to ME as an individual, instead of the author talking to a mass group of people. Also?! The graphics and branding is TOP notch. I’ve read so many self help books over the years & they all tend to say the same thing “Just compliment yourself in the mirror and you’ll be more ____ (confident, happy etc)” blah blah blah.

There were SO many different and refreshing ideas that welcomed the exploration of what brings ME more joy & that it WILL look different from what brings other people joy. I loved that this book is almost set up like a workbook too- she has different journal prompt opportunities & worksheets to help you explore your ideas. So have a one or pencil when you read this! I wrote allll over it.

She goes over burnout, anxiety, values, purpose, goal setting, joy, and more importantly, HOW to create more joy for YOUR life. It’s very personalized. As someone who experienced burnout while reading this book, I found her tips to ACTUALLY be so refreshing and helpful. This was not just another self book that I’ll never read, I have a feeling I’ll be referring back to it again and again.

Towards the end she talks about goals & this really stood out to me. I’ve always struggled with goal setting- and for once it was nice to not be told that I just need to put my head down and push through/do it. I loved exploring her mindset shift on goals & how goals need to ADD something, not take away something to improve. She reiterated that goals are for YOUR well-being, so there should be joy infused into the process of achieving a goal. Definitely recommend this book to everyone!

[Amber McGuigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a big fan of Sophie’s podcast after I was introduced to her by a friend. Through Sophie’s work and advice I’ve genuinely felt a shift in my mentality and approach to life. I often find self help books to be quite toxic and set unrealistic expectations. Sophie is realistic and practical. Highly recommended.

[Spinster · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable read with some solid advice on setting goals. HOWEVER. I would absolutely love to read a book about joy/following a joyful path that doesn't end with someone becoming a life coach. Most people don't want to become coaches (or, dare I say, even hire a coach?) and there are real reasons to stay in a solid job rather than choose the path of ~joy. ~

Give me examples of people who had to stick with a job that didn't "light them up" because of medical debt, or needing health insurance, or needing to pay rent, but who made small choices to allow in more joy and ultimately found contentment. I would honestly find that more aspirational than reading about yet another "how I became a life coach" journey.

[Jenny C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it! This book is for those who have been in the self-development space for a while, who may have read countless pages detailing studies, onerous exercises, etc.

Choose Joy goes through each area (identifying / scoring your happy wheel, getting clear on your values) succinctly with beautiful formatting as a nice reminder - and perhaps, this time when the reader has not been made dizzy by the countless words, actually do the exercises?

If you're someone who needs a lot of convincing and cajoling and explaining, this might not be for you. If you're someone who already knows about using your values as a compass and such, but feel like it's time for a nice refresher, this might be helpful.

[Shauni · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most accessible and engaging self help books I've read, which actively empowers the reader to decide what a joyful life looks like to them through exercises and activities. Having the space and prompts to reflect on my values, and come up with actionable steps I can take to live my life in a way that's more aligned to them has really laid some positive (joyful) foundations for me.

I would've liked more guidance and examples from the goal setting section of the book, but the foundational stuff was fantastic and had already helped me to better understand why some areas of my life just aren't clicking at the moment.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

There aren’t many self help books I like. Most, I rarely finish because they just do not work. This particular book I loved reading! It seems to have answered worries I had in a very easy way. There are actions you can take immediately. I was able to see why my joy was made redundant, so to speak, and how I can find it again.
Honestly, this book helped me more than 10 sessions with a therapist! I’m asking myself, why didn’t my counsellor tell me any of this.
I highly recommend this book. Even if you’re in a dark place and don’t think anything will work, this adds hope.
I’m off to do the exercises and listen to her podcasts now.

[Verónica Proaño · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es bastante blanco y privilegiado, sin minimizar lo que la autora pasó claro, pero si estás en esas circunstancias Choose Joy parece buena opción porque te recuerda que en ciertas ocasiones puedes escoger ser feliz siempre y cuando tengas los ahorros y una red de apoyo que te ayude en esto, aunque ella aclara que pasó épocas difíciles. Es entretenido y un libro tranquilo para disfrutar de vez en cuando, con actividades dinámicas.

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

After struggling for some time to find a purpose and to feel happier day to day this book is a game changer! Its so well written and I love the exercises in the book as it really gets you thinking. It gives amazing tips on how to implement new habits an how to change your life for the better. Definitely worth a read! 💗

[LeyanneForbes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. Some fairly simple (perhaps because I've come across some of them before though) ideas for how to install more joy in your life. I really liked the exercises and chapter on Values. A great book that I will dip in and out of for work and for helping others. Will be listening to Sophie's podcast next

[Becky Hipkiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book - I’ve been following Sophie for a while now and couldn’t wait to get my hands on her book. It’s beautiful (would make for a great gift) and has some real tangible joyful actions you can take.

[Jenna McKechnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A real manifesto & practical guide for adding more joy to your life. I’ve implemented lots of the tools in it that I’ve picked up from following Sophie over the years already, so can vouch that it actually works! And it’s all bound up so beautiful and succinctly now in this book. Love! 🥰

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gorgeously written book about prioritising joy in your life and figuring out your purpose. This is part workbook so it took me a while to get through all of the exercises, but I really recommend it. There's a lot of wisdom in here!

[Franxilicious · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simplistic in its approach but I think that’s the whole premise of it as well: just sprinkling in a bit more joy into our every day can have a tremendous impact on our mood, energy, and outlook. Will be referencing this one in the future for ideas.

[Jamiese Edmonson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book about a year ago at a little shop and just got around to reading it. I really enjoyed it, and I love how there are prompts every few chapters to make you really think, or create lists. I enjoy a tangible resource.

[Tia Rodriguez · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book can best be described as mediocre, offering little to distinguish itself. I’m relieved it was only a modest investment of five dollars. It provides a cursory glance at self-reflection, making it a suitable read for absolute beginners, but it lacks depth and substance for those seeking more profound insights.

[Holly M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book if you want basic info on joy and practical ways to implement it. I preferred Ingrid Fettel Lee's book "Joyful" as to the science of joy but this has nice practical charts/ideas.

[Erika Holderness · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really helpful workbook.

[Ana L-P]

This was definitely a self help book :/

Only read to finish a yearly reading challenge self help just really isn’t for me

[Madison McGlone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for the Hustle Sanely BFF book club. Definitely worth a read! Super quick and digestible and I walked away with a few good practices and takeaways.

[Leanna Van Vleet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first few chapters. It helped me to align my vision board to my life value and what mattered most to me.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars - Would recommend. Lots of good frameworks and actionable steps. It reminds me a lot of the book Burnout by Nagoski.

[Dorothy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Abandoned; brought me no joy

[Rara Siregar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a fan of journal book but this one is fun.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the workbook type format and think this would be a great book for someone newer to the self help scene.