Joy Challenge 2017

Many of you know that “joy” is my thing.  For those of you who are newer to the blog I’ll give you a quick recap.  Four years ago, there was a commercial with a montage of kids squealing in delight while opening presents.  The pure joy and excitement on their faces inspired me to write a blog post about how easy it is for children to find joy and how difficult it can for busy parents.  A couple years later, I was in a busy store, impatiently waiting to pay for gifts when I was thought, what happened to the joy in the holidays?  This is supposed to be fun!  That year I issued the joy challenge to all my readers.  Whenever you see the word joy, pause and take a deep breath.  Remind yourself of the joy of this season and let all the stress fall away.  I also encouraged readers to take pictures of the joy they found and post them on Facebook.

Since that post, I have been literally surrounded by joy, from books to coffee mugs, gift cards to sweaters. I am reminded of joy every day and it serves as a constant reminder for me, which is great because it can slip away so easily.  For example, you’re a store and you see joy.  You take a picture, post it and float out of the store feeling joyful.  You get in your car and as you are backing out, a car swoops behind you nearly taking your bumper with them.  You jam on your brakes narrowly avoiding an accident and mutter under your breath.  You drive off, your heart still racing, annoyed with what could have happened and just like that the joy bubble is popped, you’re back in frustration and rage, leaving joy in the dust.      

Of course, it is not possible to stay in joy 24/7.  Life happens, but, how can we get back to joy?  Here are just a few ways to get back to joy when you are having a particularly challenging day:

• Get up and move.  It’s easy for exercise to take a back seat when you are on a deadline and have a long list of things to do, but getting out and moving your body is essential.  Ideally, you should go outside, breathe in the fresh air and take a walk, run or ride a bike.  If the weather won’t allow you to go outside, then find a workout you can do indoors, YouTube is full of free yoga and cardio videos.  Any type of exercise will release endorphins, lightening your mood and bringing you back to joy.
• Put yourself in time out.  If you’ve been running around crazy all day, five minutes of peace and quiet can make all the difference in the world.  Pour yourself a cup of tea, coffee, water or wine and just sit.  No social media, no other distractions.  Just sit, relax and enjoy every drop of what’s in your cup.  Give your body that time to rest and think about all the things you are grateful for.  Once you are finished, you can go back to checking items off your list, but the reset will have made all the difference in the world.
• Rock out.  Maybe you are stuck in the car and can’t exercise or stop to have a beverage.  If that is the case, put on some great music and turn up the volume.  Numerous studies have shown music can elevate our mood and there’s no better place to start than in the car.  So, crank it up, sing along and feel the waves of joy surrounding you.
• Phone a friend.  We’ve all said, “I need to call (fill in the blank), but I don’t have time now, so I’ll just do it tomorrow.”  Before you know it tomorrow has turned into two weeks and you still haven’t made the call.  Don’t wait for the perfect time, just call them.  Simply hearing your friend’s voice (even if it’s their voicemail) will lift your spirits in ways that nothing else can.  Chances are when they hear your voice, their spirits will be lifted as well, so not only are you personally feeling more joy, but you are also spreading joy. 

It’s hard to believe we only have two weeks until Christmas!  (And if that sentence causes you to break out into a cold sweat, then you may want to keep the list above handy, so you can go back and reference it 😊.)  My challenge to you is to keep your eyes open and look for joy.  Take a picture and post it on your social media, as a reminder to you and your friends and family, the joy of this season.
​
Joy-FULLy Yours,    
Kacey

Don’t miss a post – sign up to receive the blog in your inbox every week.  Scroll to the top of the page and you’ll see a box to enter your email in the upper right side of the page.