 Finding Daily Joy
I know I am not alone when I say that the world feels heavy these days. The past few months have been a marathon of shared global trauma, grief and acceptance of new reality, emotional fatigue can certainly set in. I, like many of you, have had ups and downs during the last few months but one thing has helped me stay energized - a focus on prioritizing joy.
In the past, I would start every day with a to-do list and ask myself, "what do I NEED to do today?" then I would prioritize my time on chores and tasks that did not give me any happiness and whenever time was left at the end of the day was reserved for things that I enjoyed - dancing, reading, time with friends, watching my favorite TV show. Some days I would have time for the things that made me happy and some days I wouldn't but one thing remained consistent, I was exhausted by the time I got to the end of my day. I wasn't showing up as my best self to the things I actually wanted to do. My main priority at the time was accomplishing my goals and Getting. Things. Done.
For the past few months, however, I have shifted my focus to joy. The daily question that I ask myself now is, "what would make me happy today?" Whether that meant dancing in my living room, taking a walk, seeing the ocean, or talking on phone to a friend, I did that first.
When I made joy my first priority
something shifted - I had more energy and felt lighter throughout my days.
It was easier to accomplish tasks I 'needed' to do because I felt energized and happy from doing tasks I WANTED to do.
If you would like to try this shift in focus, there are a few easy questions you can use as a guide to get started:
- "What will be my favorite part of my day today?"
- "What would bring joy in my life today?"
- "What made me the happiest last week, how can I do more of that this week?"
Try it out and let me know how you feel! If you have questions or would like to share your experience, please feel free to email me at
rose@comprehensivetherapy.com
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