(Part 2 of 3)
Choosing What I Say "Yes" To
When I hit my emotional/physical brick wall a little over a year ago, initially I had to say no to everything. I was physically, mentally, emotionally exhausted so it was easy to just stop doing anything. As I started to feel better and get my energy back, I found that I was much more discerning about what I chose to spend my time and energy on. I've spent the last year learning that NO is a complete sentence...and I can say it!
In my old life, I had two criteria for doing things--if I could do it or if I thought I should do it, then I said yes. This lead to a crazy life that was living me instead of me living my life. Now, I ask myself: do I want to do it or do I feel so strongly that this needs to be done that I want to do it? If the answer is yes, then I choose to commit to it. If the answer is no, even if it seems like a really fun thing or great opportunity, I say no. (For more on this, check out my article: When Saying Yes Means Saying No on HeadDrama.com).
What I've found is that because I am spending my time and energy on the things that I choose to do, the things that are important to me, I get more joy out of participating in them! Choosing what I say "yes" to has heightened my experience of joy in my daily life.
Choosing to Notice More
Another choice I've made is choosing to notice more. We can have people and events all around us that bring us joy, but our lack of recognition can lessen our experience of it. It is so easy to just get on autopilot and do what we've always done without taking time to notice moments of joy.
A woman in my writing group was sharing her experience of this the other day. She loves to do Zumba® fitness dance classes, but had realized that she was going but not really taking the time to notice how much fun she was having while she was there. The simple act of stopping to make mental note of how much fun she was having increased her experience of joy in taking the class and in her day.
We are such creatures of habit--sitting in the same spot on the sofa, taking the same route to school or work, shopping at the same stores--I think sometimes we need to purposely shake things up so that we can notice more.
Years ago, I worked at Starbucks corporate offices and one of the vice presidents had previously owned a furniture store. He told us that he made a conscious effort every day to enter the store in a different manner: sometimes he crawled on his hands and knees, other times he'd climb on a chair. These vantage points gave him a different perspective and he noticed things that he would have otherwise missed if he'd just walked in the same old way.
So choosing to take the time and make the effort to see shift my perspective is increasing my experience of joy in my daily life. It ain't always easy...but it's worth it!
Stay tuned for Part 3: Choosing to Laugh and Play More
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