Commit to Joy!

Funny story. I already wrote this article once. I loved the ideas I expressed, and how the words flowed. Then, as I was doing last minute editing, it disappeared.  Nothing I did would get it back.  What makes this extra frustrating is I can't re-watch the TikTok video that inspired it. It was a link sent to me by a friend that I have since deleted. Still, the idea won't go away, so it's time to see what arises this time.

In the video, the person shared five strategies she used in her life for....? I am sure the five were connected somehow. Only one leapt out at me though, the choice to express gratitude daily for goals you had not achieved yet. She called it future gratitude. I couldn't stop thinking about the idea.

I expect many will say this is simply the Law of Attraction at work, but for me I feel it has a much simpler purpose. Several wonderful shifts happens when we express thanks for a future goal as if it is already a reality. First, the idea is taken out of the box labeled hopes and dreams. Second, the idea is now held squarely in your mind as something that is full achievable.  Instead of wishing and vacillating, you believe. Lastly, your focus turns to taking concrete steps towards what you one hundred percent know is in your future. What a change of perspective, and it starts with a simple internal shift. 

This technique can be applied to more than business, educational, financial or other concrete goals. It can also work in the more elusive areas of our lives such as our desire for love, community, and joy. Not every day, not every moment, is joyful. However, if you daily express future gratitude for joy, it turns your thought in a positive direction that will lead you there. The same goes for community and love.

It took me decades to realize what surrounded me was merely a reflection of what was going on internally.  Accepting that joy, love and community were achieved through internal shifts and personal growth took me a long time to understand.  Once I did, however, my life changed dramatically. 

In the beginning I chose to embrace a clear vision of the community I wanted to be part of, and embraced that vision with future gratitude. The result was I began to really connect with the people I met instead of just touching the surface, and that led to me to taking the time needed to get to know them on a deeper level. This helped my circle of like minded souls grow organically. 

Joy was also a challenge for me.  I don't know about you, but I would love to be happy, laughing and joyful all day, all the time.  Instead things weigh on me heavily.  Sorrows pierce me. Times of laughter come and go, but joy somehow seemed illusive. Not only that, I found the state hard to define. Was joy when you felt happiness?  The first step was to go internally and ask my heart what gave me joy. 

Over time I came to understand joy for me is a quieter and much deeper emotion. Joy comes from a sense of contentment with my life. Joy arises as I do work I love. Joy walks with me as I pursue a passion, spend time with my family, curl up in bed with my husband at night, and hang out with friends.  My joy resides in the quiet peaceful moments that arise when I find a way to calm the chaos in my racing mind. In some ways, my joy is less an emotion than a place I choose to dwell. And it's a place I am committed to staying immersed in for the rest of my life.

Future gratitude is another tool I have added to my arsenal of life weapons for those moments when doubt rolls in and the weight of the world threatens my soul.  I will continue to commit to joy by expressing future gratitude every day for all positive things coming my way, and will use the momentum created to keep me showing up every day to do the work.