Are you joyous? What a great thing to think about on this Monday morning. Do you feel like you are full of happiness and joy?
To be joyous, I believe one must be joyful. Joyful is feeling, expressing, OR causing great pleasure and happiness.
Over the past 18-20 months, most conversations have centered around illnesses, confinement, isolation, loss of contribution, loss of businesses, and the expansive divide between political parties, masks, vaccinations, and more.
Complaining has taken priority over being joyful. Don’t buy what the majority are selling. If you stop for a minute and listen to all the complaining around you, understand, the conversations are not centered on solutions. The discussions are merely to spread the discontent. Watch as groups disperse. The individuals walk away more frustrated and discouraged than before the discussion started! Don’t let this be you!
We have more than enough complainers. We need joyous people being joyful. By now you’re asking what is there to be joyous about? How can you be joyful? These are great questions. The answers are simple. They aren’t easy, but they are simple. The reason they aren’t easy is because it requires you to change what you are focusing on. The negativity is almost overwhelming. It is everywhere.
You can find positivity if you seek it out. You must be intentional. You must plan. You must work your plan.
Even before the pandemic, few people were joyous and joyful. Everyone was so busy trying to achieve more. They were working for the promotion. They were seeking a higher wage. They wanted a bigger house or a home of their own.
In seeking positivity, one thing the pandemic did was slow people down. Priorities were shuffled. People began to see what they were missing. The focus was primarily on achievement. As soon as something was achieved, there was no time to waste. It was onto the next achievement.
While people were achieving success, no one was taking time to experience the success. In order to build self-confidence, to enhance one’s self-esteem, one must experience their successes. You must “stop and smell the roses.”
The pandemic created a pause that allowed people to stop and see what they were missing. Instead of sitting in commute traffic for an hour, they now realize they were missing the chance to play with their children in the yard. The pause has allowed people to reconnect with their loved ones. Some are fearful of returning to work because they don’t want to lose the reconnection. Some reconnections are tied to joyous activities like playing an instrument, painting, or cooking new dishes. Some include personal development like reading or learning new skills.
Even with the pause and the opportunity to feel joyous over your reconnections, people are struggling to be joyful because of all the noise. The good news is you have a choice! You can choose to eliminate or minimize the noise.
If you are listening to individuals that are sharing the negativity without positive resolutions that you can personally contribute to, choose to distance yourself. You can choose to focus on what makes you joyous (full of happiness and joy) and in turn, you can choose to be joyful (feeling, expressing, OR causing great pleasure and happiness).
Here are a few ideas to help you be joyous and joyful:
Start by allowing more time. When you have to get from one place to another, move from one activity to another, give yourself more time in between. First and foremost, this will lower your stress level. When something unexpected comes up while in transition, a traffic accident, or even an unexpected phone call, you will have some time to absorb the situation and respond in a calm manner. Secondly, if you find you have extra time when you arrive at your destination or before your next meeting, you can read for a few minutes, check in with loved ones, or simply relax.
Focus on achieving less and experiencing more. When you are running into a meeting and as soon as it is over, you head out to the next activity on your schedule, you may be checking things off your to-do list, but you are experiencing very little. At the end of life, people spend their time talking about their experiences with people, the fond memories they shared, and the disappointments for not having spent more time with loved ones and friends. You will not hear people wishing they could’ve squeezed in a few more meetings or climbed one more rung on the corporate ladder. Intentionally give more time for relationship building. You’ll never regret it.
Schedule kindness time. Imagine our world if we all scheduled twenty minutes of kindness every day. How can you put twenty minutes of kindness into your day? Imagine giving yourself an extra twenty minutes each day to allow someone to cut in front of you. Imagine taking twenty minutes to find out about someone’s vacation or how their child’s ball game went. When you can use twenty minutes each day to intentionally be joyful, others will find you joyous. You will be an example for others to follow. We can change the world if we all contribute 20 minutes of intentional kindness daily.
Remember, there is greatness within you. You must choose greatness. It won’t develop on its own. I believe in you!
“Focus less on achievement and more on experiences.”
Take Action Today!
If you would like assistance with being joyful, I can help you. We can meet by phone, on Zoom, or at a mutually convenient location. Whether you choose me or someone else, a coach will expedite your results.
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I always look forward to your thoughts and replies.
Published by Bryan M. Balch, Results Coach
Helping Individuals and Businesses Achieve Desired Results
#relationships #mindset #optimism #leadership #differencemaker