Ever notice how some words just feel heavier than others? "Happy" is fine, I guess. It’s the default. But jubilant? That’s something else entirely. It’s loud. It’s messy. It’s that specific brand of explosive joy you see when a walk-off home run clears the fence or when someone finally hears "the cancer is gone."
Most people think being jubilant is just a fancy way of saying you’re in a good mood. They’re wrong.
In the world of linguistics and psychology, words aren't just labels; they're triggers for physiological states. When we talk about being jubilant, we are describing a high-arousal state of positive affect. It’s not the quiet peace of a Sunday morning. It’s the adrenaline-fueled triumph of an underdog. Honestly, we don't use it enough. We’ve traded these big, vibrant descriptors for "vibes" and "cool," and in doing so, we’ve kinda lost the ability to articulate the peaks of the human experience.
The Science of Feeling Jubilant
What’s actually happening in your head when you feel this way? It’s not just a "spark." It’s a flood.
When you hit a state of jubilee, your brain's ventral striatum goes into overdrive. This is the reward center. It’s pumping out dopamine at a rate that makes standard "happiness" look like a flickering candle. Researchers like Dr. Barbara Fredrickson, who pioneered the "Broaden-and-Build" theory of positive emotions, suggest that these high-intensity moments do more than just make us feel good for a second. They literally expand our cognitive horizons. You think more creatively. You solve problems faster. You’re more likely to connect with a stranger.
It’s a survival mechanism, weirdly enough.
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Back in the day, if our ancestors found a massive source of food or won a tribal conflict, that jubilant energy kept them moving, celebrating, and bonding when they otherwise might have collapsed from exhaustion. It’s a surge of energy designed to cement a victory.
Is it different from being "Joyful"?
Yeah, it is.
Think of joy as a slow-burning ember. It’s sustainable. It’s deep. You can be joyful while sitting quietly in a library. But you cannot be jubilant while sitting quietly. The word itself comes from the Latin jubilare, which basically means to shout for joy. It requires an outward expression. If you aren't wearing it on your face or feeling it in your chest, you’re probably just "pleased."
Why We’ve Become Scared of Big Emotions
We live in a very "curated" world now.
Social media has taught us to perform happiness, but it’s often a very controlled, sterilized version of it. We post the perfect sunset, not the sweaty, screaming, jubilant mess of a finish line. There’s a certain vulnerability in being truly jubilant. It’s unpolished. It’s "too much" for some people.
I’ve talked to folks who feel like they have to dampen their excitement because they don't want to "brag" or seem "extra." That’s a mistake. Clinical psychologist Dr. Susan David, author of Emotional Agility, often discusses how we shouldn't categorize emotions as just "good" or "bad," but we also shouldn't suppress the "big" ones. If you stifle your ability to be jubilant, you’re effectively numbing your emotional range across the board.
You can't selective-mute the highs without losing some of the texture of life.
How to Actually Cultivate a Jubilant Life
You can't force it. That’s the first rule. You can’t look in the mirror and command yourself to be jubilant by 9:00 AM.
But you can create the conditions for it.
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1. Celebrate the "Small-Big" Wins
We usually reserve our biggest words for weddings or promotions. Why? If you finally finished a project that’s been hovering over your head like a dark cloud for six months, scream about it. Seriously. Lean into the triumph. The more you allow yourself to feel that peak intensity for mid-level wins, the more "pliable" your emotional response becomes.
2. Community is the Catalyst
It’s hard to be jubilant alone in a basement. This emotion is socially contagious. Think about a concert. You’re one of 20,000 people. When the beat drops and the lights hit, that collective energy is pure jubilee. If you’re feeling flat, find a crowd. Find a group of people chasing the same goal.
3. Physicality Matters
Since the word is rooted in "shouting," use your body. You’ll never feel jubilant while slumped over a laptop with "tech neck." Stand up. Raise your arms. It sounds like some cheesy self-help advice from the 90s, but the feedback loop between your muscles and your brain is real. High-arousal positive states require movement.
The Linguistic History You Probably Didn't Know
The word has some heavy religious and historical baggage, too. In the Hebrew tradition, a "Jubilee" was a year of emancipation and restoration. It happened every 50 years. Debts were forgiven. Slaves were set free. The land was left fallow.
It wasn't just a party. It was a systemic reset.
When we say we are jubilant today, we’re subconsciously tapping into that idea of "release." It’s the feeling of a burden being lifted. That’s why it feels so much more powerful than "glad." Glad is what you feel when the coffee is hot. Jubilant is what you feel when the chains—whatever they look like for you—finally snap.
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Stop Settling for "Fine"
"How are you?"
"I'm fine."
"How was the trip?"
"It was good."
We are boring ourselves to death with mid-range vocabulary.
Try using jubilant next time it actually fits. Watch people's faces. It’s a "disruptor" word. It forces the person you’re talking to to actually engage with your level of excitement. It raises the stakes of the conversation.
Honestly, the world is heavy enough. We have plenty of words for "stressed," "anxious," "depressed," and "overwhelmed." We have an entire vocabulary for the ways we are falling apart. We owe it to ourselves to have an equally robust vocabulary for the moments we are flying.
Practical Next Steps to Reclaim Your Jubilee
Don't just read this and go back to scrolling. If you want to actually feel more jubilant—or at least capable of the emotion—try these three things this week:
- Audit your "Wins": Look at your calendar. Find one thing you’ve accomplished that you just "checked off" and moved on from. Go back to it. Tell someone about it. Use the "big" words.
- Physical Release: The next time you get good news, don't just text "cool." Do something physical. A fist pump, a jump, a literal shout. Prime your nervous system to recognize peak joy.
- Identify Your "Jubilee People": We all have those friends who suck the energy out of a room. We also have the ones who amplify it. Spend two hours with an "amplifier" this weekend.
Life isn't meant to be lived in the middle of the volume knob. Every once in a while, you have to crank it until the speakers shake. That’s where the jubilant stuff lives. It’s loud, it’s vibrant, and it’s exactly what your brain is craving.