What are you craving?
It seems I get a hankering for something satisfying day after day.
It could be something to eat, something to make or something to learn. It could be to spend time indoors or outdoors, walking or sitting. It is hard to say what my craving will be.
One thing I know for sure is that I get to choose, each and every day, how I will satisfy my desire.
I have a few criteria to help decide which direction to go. In my new book, The Joy Factor Recipe Book – A Common Sense Approach to a Delicious Life, I share recipes that will raise your Joy Factor, so you can attract more of what you want.
One of the ingredients I offer is to honor your passions. Your passions are the things that bring you the most fulfillment. When you make decisions from what you’re passionate about vs. what you think you should do, it opens up space for being pleased. Imagine experiencing satisfaction instead of distraction or frustration. How would that impact the flow of your day?
On a recent Sunday, all I really wanted to do was to stay home and chill out. My inner chatter had me believing I had too much to get done to sit and relax. Yes, I’ll always have a lot to accomplish. Thankfully, over my morning coffee, I remembered that one of my top passions is ‘to be satisfied with what is.’ With that in mind, I chose to stay in my pajamas. All day. I had to decide time and time again that this act of self-care (another ingredient in my book) was satisfying my craving for serenity.
Putting my attention on what’s most important to me, rather than running here and there and worrying about what I was missing by staying home, was wonderful. It gave me the energy and zest to ease into the week with a knowing that I honored my craving. That is delicious.
What are you craving? How will you satisfy that desire?
Learn more about The Joy Factor Recipe Book – A Common Sense Approach to your Delicious Life here.
A Summertime Rant of Joy!
Cold drinks, cold air, give me chill in this warmed up air.
I crave to quench my thirst for more; more of the things that make my heart soar.
Those are simple things, like someone who pays attention when the light turns green and makes the arrow-
yes, I am talking to you, canary yellow 1978 Firebird!
Or the joy of using a public restroom without having sprinkles of someone else’s p-p on the seat-
yes, I am talking to you, the lady who used the bathroom before me at the Starbucks in Decatur!
And, meeting delightful people at the tables around me as we all get cool and caffinated.
That is what makes my heart sing, bringing my internal temperature down to cool and joyful.
Sister Talk
http://www.youtube.com /watch?v=vXcBa63djd4
Joy comes from spending time with my sister and sharing juicy information. Here is a combination of both to raise your Joy Factor.
More Doggie Joy!
What is it about adorable dogs that fills my heart with joy? It is there sweet faces and adorable personalities.
Spend some time with Denver and you will know what I am talking about.
Doggie Joy!
This video raises my Joy Factor in less than 2 minutes. I am sure you have already seen it. Watch it again and let yourself feel the joy……mmmmmm….bacon flavored….
Baby Steps…
It is amazing watching a baby learn how to walk. They move forward a step
or two, fall down, get back up and try it again…and again…and again. It always makes me wonder what is going on in their mind. Are they thinking, “I can do this?” or “This is so hard?” or “I think I will just keep on crawling?”
After two life changing experiences a couple of months ago, I felt like I was learning to walk again. I found myself affirming all 3 of those statements at different times of my journey. Each one made me feel different and of course, those feelings determined the actions that I took.
I went into both of those experiences with a tremendous amount of optimism. That optimism kept me afloat as I realized things were not going to be as good and easy as I hoped they would be. First, I did not make it past the first round of a contest I thought I was going to win. Second, I had a surgical procedure I thought I would heal from in two weeks and I was not fully back to Wendy until 7 weeks after the procedure-yikes!
Both of these experiences taught me some wonderful lessons – imagine that?! The funny thing is I thought I already knew these lessons-not! The learning continues….and I pass it on to you.
1. Slow Down – When I drive to fast, I miss my turn. When I move through life at breakneck speeds, I miss the beauty of the moment. Each moment contains what I value in life-connection, joy, peace and love. After surgery, I could not do anything – I had to stop and then recalibrate to a slower speed. You do not need an operation to do that, all you need is the desire to enjoy the moment and use it to make intentional decisions that will create your best life.
2. Don’t Try So Hard – Abraham-Hicks talks about letting go of the oars and moving downstream, rather than paddling hard to go upstream. When I allow the my passions to fuel the direction that I am going in, I am able to reconnect with spirit and disconnect from my negative ego and move forward with more ease. I incorporated sitting with spirit each morning and journaling my desires. Taking this time for me was just what I was craving. The craving was satisfied as I moved forward in my life with ease.
3. Honor my Passions - Each and every day I connect with what is most important to me – my Top 5 Passions. From there I make decisions as I slow down and let go of the oars. Magic happens from this place. With so many things to do, places to go, people to see and so much information to absorb, my passions are the compass that guide me in the direction that feeds my spirit. When my spirit is fed, I am creating the life I love with ease.
Today, when I fall down, I get up, wipe my knees and move forward one small step at a time. This moves me towards my destination, while truly enjoying my wonderful journey! What will your next step be?
Possibility and Rule Number 6
PassionFruit and Possibility-the video–click to watch!
Joy comes from connecting with other like minded people. Leigh Layton with The Possibility Spa is one of those people. She and her partner, Laura Calandrella are up to something delicious at Serenbe in June. The video here touches on some of the yummy topics they will be sharing at this event. Take a few minutes to learn more about Rule #6 and other delightful possibilities in this conversation. Enjoy!
Sweet Joy
Joy
Who could need more proof than honey—
How the bees with such skill and purpose
enter flower after flower
sing their way home
to create and cap the new honey
just to get through the flowerless winter.
And how the bear with intention and cunning
raids the hive
shovels pawful after pawful into his happy mouth
bats away indignant bees
stumbles off in a stupor of satiation and stickiness.
And how we humans can’t resist its viscosity
its taste of clover and wind
its metaphorical power:
don’t we yearn for a land of milk and honey?
don’t we call our loved ones “honey?”
all because bees just do, over and over again, what they were made to do.
Oh, who could need more proof than honey
to know that our world
was meant to be
and
was meant to be
sweet?
Julie Cadwallader Staub.
Create Your Own Joy
Dogs have a way of showing us how easy joy and happiness is to have in our life every day. Take some time today to uncover what truly brings you joy and then go about doing it! Woof…
Lean on Me
Sometimes in our lives we all have pain
We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there’s always tomorrow
Lean on me, when you’re not strong
And I’ll be your friend
I’ll help you carry on
For it won’t be long
‘Til I’m gonna need
Somebody to lean on
Bill Withers
This week, life has offered me a few lemons. What do you do with lemons? You can taste their sourness or if you are a Joy Strategist like me, you make lemonade. In theory, making lemonade is easy. Yet this week, I have needed a lot of help with this simple process. What I crave from this lemonade is to taste the sweetness of life amidst unfortunate situations. 9 months ago we rescued a sweet dog named Eli. Over our time together, we have realized that Eli is not the right dog for us. With a very heavy heart we have decided to find him another home. I wish I had bought stock in Kleenex before we made this decision.
In the middle of all of this, I launched into the Next Top Self Help Author contest (ps—vote for me today!) to win a publishing contract for my upcoming book about finding joy inside of yourself. This has been a true test of walking my talk. Along with using the 4 ingredients that I share in the book, I have found 3 powerful things that have helped me experience joy through this current event.
One is to call my friends. It is great when they are there and can talk; they are so helpful. When they have not been available, I lean into my theme for the year. For the past 10 years, I have picked a theme to support me on my journey. This year my theme is to Expect the Best. Those 3 words have lifted me up when I am spiraling down in worry and doubt. Last, but not least is music. This morning I went to Bill Withers song, Lean on Me. His words remind me that there is so much support available to us in so many different shapes and sizes. It is just a matter of leaning in, feeling what needs to be felt and ultimately, choosing joy again and again. And of course, the best leaning in is the hug from my husband.
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The Joy Factor
Welcome fellow Happiness Pioneers! You've come to the right place if you are looking to raise your Joy Factor. My vision is for everyone to live a life aligned with their passions and full of joy. The intention of this site is to offer you juicy nuggets that will increase your experience of joy and delight. Take a look around, grab something yummy and share the joy.
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