Quick announcement: I get to give away 2 free tickets to the Imagination IQ event April 3-6 in Scottsdale, AZ, where I will be the Energetic Facilitator. Let me know ASAP if you are interested, and I’ll help you get enrolled. (Lodging costs are not covered in this free offer.) I’d love to have you there! This week I had the pleasure of being a guest speaker at a local widow’s group luncheon. What a wonderful group of women. (Thanks so much for having me!) Their willingness to be open and share their process of moving through grief was an inspiration. I’m an overly serious sort. Chalk it up to my School of Service perfectionistic self, or just to the arrangement of my genes. All too often, I forget to lighten-up. But here’s the thing: the emotion you are currently holding is hugely responsible for what you attract next. If you want good things to come to you, you need to go around feeling good! It’s a common pattern to get caught up in the travails of life, and to think “when such-and-such happens, I’ll be happy.” Or “when such-and-such stops happening, then I’ll be happy. In the end, all we have is the present moment. It’s your point of power. Your life is now. So… That being said, let’s address the question How can I feel joy now? By using the doorway of your imagination, of course! On my authority as a trained actress, I can tell you it’s possible to feel many things that don’t stem from your current reality. Feelings are caused by thoughts. I don’t always track this connection, but it’s true. I had a behavioral psychologist work with me in college on this very thing. If you want to feel joy, start by thinking about something that personally gives you joy. Maybe it’s imagining the way your cat gazes at you, purring. Or the way your dog pants hopefully, sure you are about to go on a walk together. Perhaps it’s envisioning spring flowers, or the ocean surf, or a mountain vista, or your favorite tree. Maybe it’s a sweet memory, a victorious moment, or a time shared with someone you love. Note that because relationships (and humans) are complex, the route to a pure emotion is sometimes not through a person. Your brain doesn’t know the difference between something happening now, and some past or future event. It will respond to the thought, regardless of the time-space continuum, with a flood of chemistry – and you want to release joy chemistry. You simply need to prime the pump. Use your imagination to spark the emotions you choose to feel during your day. This is intentional use of your imagination, an enormously powerful tool. I will caution that imagining something you want but do not yet have, can be tricky. It brings on a flood of delight, followed by frustration, sadness, or resentment that it isn’t here now. Start with things that are only a moment away. The softness of your sheets. The bracing air on a winter’s day. Finding the paths your imagination offers to most reliably bring you joy, is a skill that grows with practice. Sometimes it’s something obvious, sometimes out of left field. Today while I was checking in books at the library, I imagined my (imaginary) golden dragon sitting behind me breathing down my neck. It made me smile! The widows I shared lunch with underscored my belief that community is essential, especially through the tough spots in our journeys. Thanks for being a part of mine. Coach’s Challenge: Every day this week, when you wake up and again throughout the day, chose joy. Play with it. Find the pathways that best serve to prime your “joy-pump.” And I invite you to leave a comment to share your journey. Want to use this article? Great! Just please include the following:
