I believe the world is a giant playground filled with magical corners. I believe heaven lies in running through a sunflower field at sunset, floating on the river with people you love, and being able to take long sunset drives with someone special.
Read MoreLast year I chose the word “Abundance” for my word of the year. It was evident in my life I needed to find more joy every day. I wasn’t necessarily miserable or depressed at that time (I fought those battles a few years prior) but I was struggling with feeling happy. I remember that a mentor shared with me the area I needed the most growth in was just doing the things that make me happy. Not the things that made me the most productive. So here I go, trying to shift from doing what I’ve done year over year and now I am supposed to just find joy. About this time last year, I embarked on a 600-mile one-direction road trip. I guess when all was said and done.
Read MoreOver this past year, I’ve written a lot about finding joy. The truth is a few years ago I went through a huge struggle with joy. My life felt flat during that time. Very little brought me joy. I’d later come to find that I was going through depression and I had to realign things in my life. I need more sleep and consistent sleep. I need to shed things that were weighing me down. I needed daily exercise and better support. It took time to transform all of these things, but when I formed a healthy foundation I was able to laugh and feel joy again. Looking back it wasn’t overnight that my life became joyless and it wasn’t an instant change to move it back on track. Both situations were a series of daily choices made over time. Now I protect my mindset above all else. If I am feeling like I’m in a funk, I make small choices that day to find joy in little things. Here are a few practical ways I choose to find joy when I complete everyday tasks.
Read MoreAfter having several conversations this past week with various friends I realized there is a common theme in our speech these days - when Covid is over, when the weather gets better, when it’s back to normal… I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said this myself. The truth of the matter is that we don’t know when or if the world is going to go back to normal. In fact, we may need to accept the fact that it may never go back to normal. The world may forever be impacted by these changes and we have to be willing to pivot to the new life. Mental health issues are on the rise and I believe the longer we allow this impact to affect us, the harder its going to get. I believe we can live our best life now, not tomorrow, not next week, not next year - the power is in NOW.
Read MoreI’ve shared so much lately about bringing joy into my own life. One of the things that was the toughest to go through when I was experience panic attacks a few years back was being happy. In fact, I felt the opposite of happy most of the time during that era of my life. Each day I try to do at least one activity that raises my joy level. Sometimes it’s painting with acrylics while watching The Crown. Other times you’ll find my daughter and I dancing around the house after she gets a high grade on her school work. Being happy is a choice and I can’t think of a better way to move towards joy than incorporating a little play time.
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