The case for micro-joys: Why small moments are having a big cultural shift

As I sit down to write this, I can’t help but think about an impromptu sip-and-paint session at a friend’s place that had a bunch of us (millennials) pick up a canvas and let ourselves go, albeit momentarily. What began as a casual get-together on a balmy Saturday effortlessly culminated into one of the best evenings we’d had in a while, as the background noise gradually faded into one, with almost everyone in the room wondering why we weren’t committing to micro-joys a lot more frequently, when that’s clearly what we all want? On that note, I decided to deep dive into the concept to gauge whether this is indeed a blanket emotion. 

For the love of being present 

“I’ve committed to a micro joy by picking up Padel, something completely new to me since I’d never played a racquet sport before. What started as curiosity has quickly become something I genuinely look forward to three times a week,” cites Bhisham Chawla, a restaurateur, who outlines how the sport has helped him take a breather from the din of daily life. “For me, padel is more than just a game; it’s two hours where I can fully switch off from everything else and just be present. There’s no pressure to perform, just the joy of playing, learning, and being in the moment. That mental break has made it feel essential, not optional, and it’s now a non-negotiable part of my routine.”  

While the endorphin rush serves as a major fuel for many, Swati Sahoo, a brand, marketing, and communications specialist, admits that the idea of revisiting an old hobby in a non-judgmental setting is what egged her on to join a book club. She says, “I’ve been finding joy in being part of book clubs, which in many ways began with my every morning reading books with my coffee. The book club slowly became a ritual I look forward to—quiet, unhurried, and a sense of comfort and soft learning. It adds a sense of community, but without any pressure. It doesn’t have rigorous chores, and that’s what I like most about it—it’s simply for the joy of being in the moment and a sense of togetherness.” 

A mental snooze? 

As the growing need to just be remains one of the most commonly felt emotions among millennials, after long hours, the need to switch off from time to time feels just as sacrosanct as boundaries. “As an entrepreneur, your mind is never really off—it’s always thinking, solving, always building, always many drawers open. I reached a point where small joys like stillness gave me immense happiness and reset in spurts. Scuba diving, for instance, gave me that,” shares Komal Lath, founder, Tute Consult, an integrated marketing consultancy. “Just recently, I was in Mauritius, and as I descended into the blue, I found myself in absolute awe to see octopus to eels and the only sound of my own breath. And the excitement was unparalleled. I chose to dive into the ocean and swim alongside whales. No boardroom, no brief, no noise. Just pure stillness. That, for me, is micro joy in its purest form. Not the destination, but the stillness you find inside it. My advice to anyone searching for their version of this: Stop waiting for the big, loud bucket lists and to-dos. Find what makes the world go quiet and dive into it, literally or otherwise.”  

In a world that’s constantly asking you for more, it really helps to do things that make you pause. Ayesha Sharma, a Psychotherapist & Founder of Dialogue Mental Health, enthuses that micro-joys matter because they pull you back into your own life: force you to look here rather than just far ahead into the future. “The word I keep coming back to is glimmers. Those tiny moments where something in you just softens and brings joy: the first sip of your morning coffee, a breeze you didn’t expect, a song that somehow knows what you’re feeling, or a flower that brought beauty to your day. We brush past these all the time, and that’s because most of us have been quietly trained to save our joy, to put it on layaway for when we’ve earned it: when the promotion is here, when the relationship looks right, when life finally makes sense. But here’s what I see again and again in my work: people reaching those milestones actually realise that they never let themselves be happy or present to the here and now on the way there. You do not have just to endure the present to get somewhere better; you’re actually in it, learning to notice and protect them. That’s one of the most grounded things a person can do for themselves is to own their joy here, not postpone it.”

“My advice to anyone looking to find their own micro joy is this: doing something just for yourself isn’t selfish, it’s self-care. It’s easy to deprioritise your own needs, but carving out even a small pocket of time for something that genuinely brings you joy can make a huge difference to your health. It replenishes your internal batteries, and you feel more refreshed, clearer, and more grounded. And that carries over into everything else, whether it’s making better decisions at work or showing up more fully in your personal life,” concludes Chawla. 

It’s widely believed that the universe speaks to you in sigils and signs. Take this as an opportunity to pursue a passion that could reignite a spark that went missing in the pursuit of building a life. To live well is truly an art.

Images: Getty Images

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