About JoyJar

Why JoyJar

Most of us are problem solvers. We are socialized to be. Solving a problem starts with finding it, and then looking for a way through.

It is a great skill. And yet, when looking for problems becomes a habit, it becomes a problem. We notice what is broken, and don’t see what is working.

JoyJar is for seeing what is working, with intention and attention.

Why me

I have been meditating for sixteen years. One practice I return to is called gladdening the mind. You bring to mind something good, on purpose, something that makes you smile, and stay with it for a moment.

It sounds small. Practised again and again, it changes the attitude of the mind. I think of it as changing the soil, because what grows in a glad mind is different from what grows in a problem-solving mind. There is room for imagination, creativity, growth and building, and for problem solving too, but an expansive kind that comes with much more.

The first JoyJar was a jar I made for myself: a simple web app, with my joys kept in Airtable. Adding a joy, or pulling one out, was a moment of remembering. Each time, I was gladdening the mind.

Why now

That first jar was mine alone. I wished this practice could reach more people, and an app felt like the way to reach them. Coding with AI is what made it possible. JoyJar was built with Claude, and I am thankful for that.

Now it is on iPhone and Android, so a family or a few friends can fill a jar together, just as the season of gratitude begins.

Our everyday life holds lots of reasons to smile. JoyJar is a place to store them, and to revisit one whenever we need it.

Vimla Gulabani

Try it free for 30 days. Then $4.99, once. No subscription.