This week is all about what 5 things are helping me live a more joyful life right now. I first heard this idea from the Lazy Genius Podcast, and the host, Kendra Adachi said she got this idea from the author, Barbara Brown Taylor. Taylor asks and answers this question in her memoir, Leaving Church.
I put this episode on the list for this month, but I’ve had a pretty hard and stressful couple of months, and quite honestly, I almost decided not to do this episode because I couldn’t think of anything that was making my life more joyful. But then I realized that that was the exact reason I needed to do this episode, and I ended up coming up with five things that are helping me live a joyful life.
This isn’t an episode to brag about all of the amazing things I’m doing in my life. But maybe a little inspiration for you to make your own list of things that will help you have a more joyful life, especially if your life isn’t easy right now. Doing this exercise has definitely helped me see a bit clear that there are good things in my life right now among all the hard things.
Links from the Episode:
Practicing Gratitude
The first of the 5 things that are helping me life a more joyful life right now is writing down 10 things that I’m grateful for. Every night lately, I’ve been reading books and listening to podcasts about improving different aspects of my life, and in almost every book or podcast I’ve consumed it has talked about having gratitude. I’m trying out a gratitude practice of writing down 10 things I’m grateful for.
Every night before I sleep on hard days, I have to get kind of creative, but so far, I’ve only missed a couple of days, and it’s definitely helped me go to bed in a good head space.
Schedule Outings or Special Events
The next thing that’s bringing me joy right now is season tickets to a local theater. A couple of years ago, my mom bought us both season tickets to a local theater called Hale Center Theater in Orem.
They put on six productions a year with a mix of comedies and musicals. After that first year, we were hooked and we’ve been going ever since. I usually don’t know what the play or musical is about, but I love having something to look forward to that’s on the calendar and gets me out of the house without kids.
It’s a great way for me to connect with my mom and remember who I am outside of being a mom.
Using Color to Create a More Joyful Life
The next thing that’s helping me live a more joyful life comes from the book Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness. It is one of my favorite self-help type books, and I read it every spring.
In one of the chapters it talks about color being an easy way to bring more joy into your life, and in the past couple of months, I’ve been trying extra hard to do just that. I realized recently that the number of black and gray shirts I have in my wardrobe was a bit out of control and decided to put a pause on buying anything black or gray, and instead focus on bringing in more color.
I bought some blue floral pants that are a little crazy, but I love them and I bought a bright purple fanny pack that brings me joy every time I use it. My next goal is to bring more color into our house as a whole, but that’s been a little more intimidating. Hopefully, as this year progresses, I can slowly add more color and by extension joy.
Olive and June
Beautiful Flowers
Speaking of the book, Joyful, the first time I read it, Ingrid Fetell Lee, the author, talked about alliums being a joyful flower. I Googled them and completely agreed. I immediately put a reminder in my calendar to buy allium bulbs that fall because you have to plant them in the fall for them to pop up in the spring.
That was a couple of years ago, and now I am reaping all of the joyful benefits. They spring up every spring right by my front door, and they make me smile every time I open the door. I’ll put a picture of my alliums on Instagram. They are my absolute favorite. If you’re dying to know what they look like and you can’t get on Google or Instagram, just picture a ball of purple flowers on top of a skinny stem.
They are whimsical plants that seem to defy gravity. I just love them.
Finding a Good Book
The last thing on my list for this round of what’s saving my life right now is the book Legends and Lattes. This book has been such a fun read. I got the recommendation from the All Things Cozy podcast and it is the perfect mix of cozy and fantasy.
It’s about an orc who is sick of being a sword for hire, and she wants to open up a coffee shop. And of course, shenanigans arise. There are so many parts of my life right now that are stressful or hard, but this book is light and breezy and I have thoroughly enjoyed ending my day reading
Hopefully listening to this of 5 things that are helping me live a joyful life right now gave you some inspiration to start your own list.
I’d love to hear about the things that are making your life better over on Instagram. Tell me in the comments on the post about this episode. Also, if you want to add some color to your life via nail polish, get 20% off an Olive and June mani pedi system by using my affiliate link in the show notes. Talk to you soon.
