How to refuel, recharge + refresh your ‘joy tank’

Photo source: conniemcleod.files.wordpress.com/

An important lesson I’ve learned since hiring a writing coach and living my best life—while embarking on a journey toward my future self—is that I must affix my own oxygen mask before attempting to care for those around me. In fact, the more I fill my “joy tank”—aka bucket—the happier and healthier I feel. And, with increased energy and enthusiasm to do what I love, including serving others. Because when we consistently function on half empty at best, we risk becoming run down, and/or possibly resentful. If you’re interested in ways to refuel, recharge and refresh your joy tank, check out these ideas to start:

1. Indulge in a yummy treat
2. Schedule a DIY “spa” date
3. Spend time in nature
4. Take an online class
5. Play a game or assemble a puzzle
6. Create something artsy
7. Embark on a new adventure; e.g., road trip or scavenger hunt
8. Binge watch your favorite show

How does your joy tank get filled?

A funny thing happened on the way to rehab

A last-minute schedule shuffle recently brought me to Minneapolis, 1,700 miles from my Phoenix home. All-things travel rolled according to plan: until my first morning in town. While backing down a driveway in my rental car—a 2019 white Toyota Camry—on the way to visit a family member recovering in post-surgery transitional care, the sickening crunch of metal alerted me to the fire hydrant I’d overlooked with the tall red metal post near the curb. I examined the outcome (fire hydrant: 1; Camry: 0) and made a quick decision: pop the fender and grille back into place and go. After a heartwarming visit, I spent the remainder of the afternoon dealing with the aftermath of my fender bender. In spite of a change of plans, missed opportunities and extra expenses, I managed to handle the experience with grace under fire. And the favor that’s followed simply validates when the unexpected happens, our reactions open the door to receive blessings or cursings.

How do you handle the unexpected?

Sifting through the muck to reach the prize

What seems to us as bitter trials
are often blessings in disguise. ~ Oscar Wilde

For the past couple of weeks I’ve wrestled with psychological and emotional baggage that’s over 30 years in the making (and not flattering), which has also triggered a nasty case of monkey mind (also not pretty—see ‘Revisiting…’). Then add in to the mix an extra dose of restlessness that stems from myriad [new] dreams I dared dream and laid the foundation for last year, which I hope to begin living out in 2017. And most of the areas I’m working on will not and cannot realize change overnight. After all, it’s impossible to rush something you hope to last forever… or at least as long as you’re breathing. Any type of growth takes time. Healing—physical, emotional, spiritual or mental—takes time, too. I just need to remind myself of this while I wade through each trial to discover my own personal blessing.

Do you count them as today’s trials or blessings?

Image courtesy of fantasista at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Tips to bloom where you’re (trans)planted

 

The article ‘Bloom where you’re planted’ talks about making the most out of our situation, whether we like it or not—until we can make a change or something better comes along or whatever it is that serves to transplant us. According to the article, Keeping our dreams alive is what uplifts the human spirit, and then it goes on to suggest four ways we can survive before we thrive: 1) [Understand] every step in life prepares us for the next one, 2) stop complaining, 3) be a blessing and 4) bloom through the concrete—changing ourselves instead of expecting others to change. Although I think there are a passel of takeaways in the article, if our environment is an unhealthy one—no matter how hard we try to bloom—we will encounter resistance. Also, as I mention in ‘5 Things Hiking, Life Have in Common,’ if we get too comfortable in one place, we may cease to grow altogether.

What’s your take on blooming where we’re (trans)planted?