8 Small Changes that can Bring You Joy Right Now
CHOOSING JOY IS A PRACTICE.
Small steps add up to big change, and we’re here for it. If you know anything about us, you know that for us, it’s all about joy. We deeply believe that joy is the secret to heart centered success in this wild life, and wellness is a great tool to integrate joy into our lifestyle.
Know that all of the small changes you could make in this blog may not all work for you and your lifestyle in this season of life. Read through them, pick a few that you could add into your life right away, and then allow the rest of them to show up at a later time in your life when the time is more aligned. As you do this you are intuitively tailoring your wellness practice to the unique being you are. This is such a gift.
As you begin cultivating new ways to integrate wellness practices into your lifestyle, remember to start with joy. Keep reading for 8 small changes that can bring you joy right now beginning your process of growth, transformation, and residence at a higher vibration.
“Joy; the kind of happiness that doesn't depend on what happens.” -David Steindl-Rast
🌻 Shift your mind from doing joy and finding joy, to being joy.
Radiate Gratitude was the mantra I was working with when I finally understood the importance of this simple shift. Everything in manifestation tells us what comes into our lives is a mirror to what we have called in through our emotions. If we want things of a higher vibration, we must elevate our own vibration.
Radiating Gratitude is a perfect way to become joy.
Life obviously loves to throw curve balls as it tests our character and our integrity along the way. The integration comes when these curve balls are coming head on and we choose to stay present in gratitude. Whether that means calling out the silver linings in the situation or thanking the universe for the lesson, verbally or energetically, and letting it go. This emotional state of gratitude and the energetic vibration it brings with it blows the doors wide open on all our dreams and aspirations dissolving any physical, emotional, spiritual, or energetic blocks, creating a beautiful opportunity for us to receive.
With this concept in mind, being joyful is calling joy into your life. No matter our awareness on the concept of manifestation, an easy take away to remember is, thoughts to things. Think gratitude, be gratitude. Think joy, be joy.
“In the research, we learned that the most effective way to cultivate joy in our lives is to practice gratitude. The key word here is practice.” -Brene Brown
🌻 Clear the queue.
Clearing the queue means clearing stuck and stagnant energy stored in the physical body’s tissues. We apply this in two ways.
One is mentally. There’s plenty of days when brain fog sets in, I get ready to work, and things just aren’t clicking. For me, this is normally a cue that there is some stuck energy around the subject or I’m feeling overwhelmed with the weight of the task in addition to an already stacked to-do list. Once I feel these emotions, I turn to the Stream of Conscious exercise to alleviate the brain fog and clear the mental queue. This also helps me feel confident moving back into the task knowing I took some time to myself to get clear.
The second is movement. We know experience is stored in the body. Experiences we haven’t fully digested mentally get stored in our body’s tissues to work through another time. These sneaky things can show up as aches and pains. If you are having a hard time processing an experience, you can lean into how it makes your body feel, and begin a mindful movement practice paired with a healing intention to help you clear the queue through somatic intervention.
Click here to grab the Stream of Conscious Exercise, FREE.
🌻 Find out what really brings you joy.
Since we are the topic of the Stream of Conscious Exercise, it’s a great time to share that this is the exact exercise I used to help me reconnect with myself and get to the bottom of what really brings me joy and why. I basically had that moment of, what does bring me joy? Do I even know? Knowing what used to bring me joy, but not realizing it’s been awhile since I tapped back in gave me a new reason to continue to go deeper on the journey of self discovery and learn what actually brings this new evolved version on myself joy. Here’s the writing prompt I inserted and a wordbank of fun activities you can choose from to get you started.
Click here to grab the What Brings Me Joy Stream of Conscious Exercise, FREE.
Click here for an activity wordbank to get the creativity flowing. You co-create that magic, girl!
🌻 Allow 15-30 minutes of your day to be with yourself in silence.
You can meditate, do intentional breathing, or just sit in a chair with a coffee and stare at the wall. No matter what you choose, in my experience, this time to yourself is of great importance. I will admit I’ve been caught staring at the wall a few times. As funny as it is, it’s a cue from my brain telling me that it prefers some time to digest, reflect, create, think, or discharge thoughts and emotions that have built up throughout the day or even the past few weeks if I haven’t stopped to take some time out for me. Even if we are unsure of the direct cause or unsure of what chemical in the brain creates what effect, in the very least, can we receive the cue from the brain as a direct message to pause? And let it just be this?
As we observe our patterns and behaviors we start to understand the language of body intelligence. We notice the cues, we honor the cues, we come back refreshed and ready to do big things while we were able to keep the body and mind nourished and balanced bringing us more heart centered success in life and in business overall.
“Joy is the secret to heart centered success.” -Jessica Laird
🌻 Move your body.
Your body craves movement and alignment just as you do in your life and in business. Show your body some love with some simple stretches, a full on yoga flow, or a solid walk around the block. Don’t put any time limits on yourself or restrictions on when and where. Just know some time during the day you are going to do some movement for you.
Each day you wake up, tune in and scan your body to see how you physically feel from head to toe. Then, wherever you are, start to do simple movement with the intention of moving to feel better. Find joy in not knowing what to do on paper and just listening and feeling into your body. By doing this you are building a relationship with yourself, and at the same time embarking on a journey of self discovery and self trust as the lines between brain and body begin to communicate fluidly. Movement is medicine, and in my opinion it is the best medicine to add in as a wellness practice in your lifestyle.
Here’s 5 days of different movement practices to get you started, FREE.
🌻 Find a community of Joy Seekers!
I would be remiss not to mention the virtual community of women we have all embodying their wellness lifestyle and lifting up others in the group along the way. This group is a place to bare your heart, establish your joy, and share, and celebrate it with others who are ready to fan your flames! We love seeing people live in their truth, enJOY the experience along the way, and leave their mark in the world.
After you’ve completed the What Brings Me Joy Stream of Conscious Exercise find, join, or start a group with people that have similar joys. You can do a Facebook group, a group chat, a local community group, etc. For example, if you love crafting - join or start a crafting group. If you like to paint and you’re still a beginner - start taking a painting class at the local craft store. If you love to walk, grab a partner and find a new hiking spot once a month. The options are endless. If you need some inspiration or want to talk it over with another Creative, join the-honeybee-hive on slack or leave a comment with your favorite communities.
Ready to join a community of Joy Seekers? Click here to join ours on Slack!
🌻 Fill your space with reminders of joy.
I am a firm believer in filling my spaces with things that make me feel good. Every time I catch a glimpse of or use these things my heart cracks a little smile. It’s almost like a gentle energetic reminder that things are going to be okay. So whether it’s a goofy coffee mug a family member gave you at Christmas or a picture of lines your little babes drew for you, keep it close, and enjoy the smile that comes with the little moments when you see it throughout the day.
You may not need this support all the time, but for the hard days it’s good to have something soothing to lean on in plain sight. I keep a jacket nearby, lots of plants and bouquets of flowers, crystals, a clay lizard my oldest made in elementary school, an essential oil blend, a blanket, and snacks. Can’t forget the snacks, obvi!
Get creative and give yourself a minute to really imagine what items you would add to your space to make it a little more cozy… ultimately encouraging joy.
Stream of Conscious Exercise, anyone? 😉
🌻 Audibly state your gratitude.
I love this one because it forces us to get the words out and open up our throat chakras, the centers of our communication. Audibly expressing our feelings helps them stay out of body’s tissue and allows the feelings to flow up and out with the breath. Expressing our gratitude, as we mentioned before, helps us sustain a high vibration. The more we speak on the people, places, and things that bring us joy, more of those things flow into our lives with ease. Let this small change of actively and audibly expressing gratitude be one you implement first to embody joy fast.
Connect this action of audibly stating your gratitude to a rhythm in your day. Whether it happens when you’re making your coffee or in the car on your way to lunch start audibly stating everything you are grateful for. Repeat this action with the same rhythm everyday to create sustainable change. Don’t put a number on how many you need to say or making sure you always add the kids or your parents first. Just let it flow. Whatever comes up, let it come out. If some big emotions show up, steady your breath, and maybe take some time to journal about it. This exercise is a great way to keep your mind in a right headspace.
The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate. -Oprah Winfrey
When you begin to make these small changes keep this quote in mind. “Be stubborn with your goals, and flexible about your methods.” This teaches us to allow time and space for flexibility knowing that not every one of these is going to fit seamlessly into the plan today. It means with trial and error we find the things that truly work for us right now and invite the integration into our lives ultimately bringing us more joy and heart centered success in life and in business.
When you try them out, I invite you to come back and leave a comment on if it worked for you, how you’re feeling about it, and what you’ve found that brings you joy. 💛
