What We Mean by Joy

The & Company exists to move the world toward joy. That's a big statement. So let's talk about what we actually mean, because we're not talking about what most people think we're talking about.

We're not talking about the sugary happiness rush of a funny cat video. We're not talking about the dopamine spike from a notification, a like, a slot machine win, or any of the thousand little hits modern life serves up to keep us scrolling, clicking, and consuming. Those moments feel good. They can even feel great. But they fade fast, and when they do, they often leave us worse off than before.

We're talking about something deeper. Something that lasts.

Resilient Joy

The joy we care about is resilient joy—a durable sense of well-being that doesn't shatter the moment life gets hard. And life will get hard. We all know this. We lose people we love. Relationships end. Jobs are lost. The world throws things at us that we simply can't prevent.

Resilient joy doesn't pretend those things don't happen. It doesn't paste a smile over pain. It's the steady foundation underneath all of it—the thing that tells you, even in a dark season, that brighter days are ahead. It's what helps you bounce back. Not because you're ignoring reality, but because you've built something real enough to hold you.

What the Research Says

This isn't just philosophy. The science backs it up.

The Harvard Study of Adult Development—one of the longest-running studies of human well-being in history, spanning over 85 years—found something striking in its conclusions. Across decades, demographics, cultures, and continents, across every variable the researchers tracked, one factor predicted joy and well-being more than any other: the quality of a person's relationships.

Not wealth. Not career success. Not fame or achievement. Relationships.

And Harvard isn't alone. Research across cultures, time periods, and philosophical traditions converges on the same insight. The World Happiness Report, drawing on data from over 150 countries, consistently identifies social connection as a top driver of life satisfaction. Studies in positive psychology by Martin Seligman and others place relationships at the center of human flourishing. The pattern is unmistakable.

At the core of joy is people.

The Things That Erode It

If relationships build resilient joy, it's worth naming what tears it down. The modern world is extraordinarily good at manufacturing short-term pleasure that undermines long-term well-being. Endless social media feeds, algorithmic content designed to hijack your attention, substances, gambling—these things create spikes, not foundations. They borrow happiness from tomorrow to pay for a hit today.

This isn't a moral judgment. It's a structural observation. When we chase the spike instead of building the foundation, we end up more fragile, not less. And fragility is the opposite of what we all fundamentally need.

What Joy Actually Looks Like

So what builds resilient joy? It comes back to a few grounded, human things.

Relationships — deep and meaningful ones, yes, but also the simple, light ones. The neighbor you wave to. The coworker who makes you laugh. The friend who shows up when things fall apart. Shared experiences, daily interactions, community. These are the raw materials of joy.

Purpose — having something you care about beyond yourself. Work that matters. Faith. Causes worth your energy. Acts of kindness. Gratitude as a practice, not just a platitude.

Health — physical and mental. Taking care of the body and mind that carry you through this life. Mindfulness, time in nature, realistic expectations about what you can control.

Identity — knowing who you are, what you value, and having the freedom to live accordingly. Privacy, independence, connection, growth.

The basics — let's not romanticize this. Joy is hard to access when you're worried about food, shelter, or safety. The foundation matters.

Why This Is Our Purpose

Joy is nuanced. It's individual. It's experienced together and found alone in nature. It's strange and beautiful and complex. We don't claim to have the definitive perspective on it. No one does.

But we believe this: if we orient our work toward building resilient, lasting joy—the kind rooted in real human connection—we're pointing in the right direction. Not toward a fleeting feeling, but toward an enduring way of being in the world.

That's what we mean when we say we want to move the world toward joy. Not the sugary substitute. The real thing.