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 This month the Tune-Up tackles the pleasurable pursuit of integrating joy into one's daily life.
But, before we dig into that, let me ask: Have you tried any of the four monthly challenges that I have put to you thus far? If you have, in fact, completed all four challenges and are eager for more learning, listen up: The first person to email me and tell me about their experiences with doing all four challenges, January - April, will win three free coaching sessions! Write to me today to let me know what the challenges have yielded for you.
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Are you successful but not joyful?
Experiencing joy is something that many of us lose touch with in the day to day scuffle of life. And, as our lives become more hectic and filled with responsibility, often the idea of pursuing more joy fades into the background. So is experiencing joy really so important? And if it is, why are many of us ignoring it on a daily basis?
Our culture tells us to value achievement and productivity over experiencing joy and for some, the feeling of success that comes with achievement may be a path in that direction. But for many of us, joy comes less from what we achieve and acquire than from a deeply-rooted sense of what's most meaningful and enjoyable to us.
So yes, absolutely - joy is important! It brings us much closer to who we really are and when we're living closer to our true selves, we're living a more satisfying and meaningful life. When we're truly joyful, everything in life is enhanced including our personal relationships with others.
But, how do we get started when joy hasn't been a top priority for us? Although joy tends to come naturally for children, as adults we may be a little rusty. Here are some ideas for creating more joy and having fun doing it!
Making Joy Happen! A primer:
- Start with taking a few mental "Joy Snapshots". In a moment of quiet relaxation, remember back to joyful moments throughout your life in order to conjure up the feeling. From that place, take a look at your current day lifestyle. How often are you experiencing that precious feeling of joy you remember?
- Create a space for joy. Flip back through your calendar for the past few months to notice any meetings, groups, and committees you are part of. Are you part of any groups or projects only out of a sense of duty and obligation? Do you consider them drudgery and toleration? If so, I give you permission to be bold and to gracefully withdraw yourself from them! Yes! You made a choice to join something and you can choose to stop now if it's not enhancing your life. Think about this as creating a space and time for true joy.
- Tap into what inspires and energizes you. Again, you may need to think back to early adulthood or even to childhood to access your most joyful activities and experiences. Meditate on what makes you feel most alive - perhaps it's spending time alone in nature, creating art, deepening a friendship, playing kickball with your kids, debating politics, or singing in a choir. Your joy is unique to you and is very likely close at hand waiting to be rediscovered.
- Make regular joy appointments with yourself and with others. Aknowledging how crucial it is to have real joy in your life is a move forward but taking action is the most important step. Plan out specifically how you'll make it happen and share your plan with someone close to you. Start to take joy seriously!
- Don't allow yourself excuses when it comes to your own joy. Don't allow the words "I don't have time" or "I'm too old to for that" to be part of your repertoire. Make sure you keep all your commitments to yourself around experiences of joy. We're so fortunate that we have choices about how we spend our time during this life. We can choose to make the most of every day!
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