JOY!

What Gets in the Way of Your JOY?

I love the water.

And, when it is my time to go, I'm coming back as a dolphin.

If you ever spent any time watching them, they know how to play!  

They live with JOY!

I'm not sure if dolphins have rough patches or bad days but they sure show resilience towards play and joy. 

This fantastic photo was taken by a friend of a friend in Florida where we were just visiting.  It makes me smile.

And I was thinking to myself - what gives me great joy in my life?  And, how can I intentionally create more of that in my life.

Water. I love being on it, in it and near it.  So I have intentionally set out to schedule more water dates with myself and my family.  

Then I got to thinking of the opposite.

What things tend to rob me of my JOY?

A big joy thief is FEAR.  

We all fear.

There isn't a successful person in the world who doesn't feel fear.

The difference is they don't let it stop them from taking the action they know they need to take to get to their next level.

When we let fear stop us, then we feel stuck.

Stuck sucks JOY!

Since we all experience fear, how do we get to a place where we continue moving forward with action toward our dreams?

When we are feeling more fear than JOY, I have found two things help tremendously: Growth friends and coaches/mentors.

Growth friends:  what the heck is a growth friend?

These are your friends that support you doing something different.  These are the friends that you can share your fears with and they will encourage you and be there for you.  

Growth friends challenge you to be your best, to show up as your most courageous self. 

Let's face it, lots of friends encourage us to be safe.  Safe is another way of saying, "stay the same".  

It's not about you.  That is about their fear of losing you as a friend because you are challenging yourself.  That can be intimidating to some folks.

And, when you fail, your growth friends are there to listen and support you as you plan your next move.  Your growth friends don't confirm the little voice in your head saying you shouldn't have tried.  Instead, they help you get up and try again.

Your growth friends and coach will challenge you to ask yourself powerful questions so that your "failure" can be re-framed into new information to apply next time.

We all need these friends in our lives.

If you don't feel you have enough growth friends - make getting some a priority.

Coaches and mentors have also been huge for my growth.  

I work with several coaches.  Each one pushes and challenges my best self to come out and play. 

I am also blessed that my wife loves to challenge me when I am being fearful or playing small.

Everyone needs a gentle reminder regarding our responsibility to bring our greatness to the world. (Thank you Jamie) Not in a braggy way.  If we don't step up and move beyond our fear and give our greatness to the world, no one else will.  There is no one else like you that can do what you do, create what you create. 

Coaches and mentors challenge you, support you and help you re-frame your perspective.

If you think you might want to add some growth friends and play with me as your coach, check out MindSet Gym.

 And share with me what gives you the greatest joy and how can you get more of that in your life?

What robs you of JOY and how can you let that go?

Hugs,

Shannon