Secret Treasure
Ever since I was young, I loved stories about secret treasure. Finding a map that would lead you on an adventure through exciting and dangerous new territory. Exploring new lands and meeting new people. And ultimately, discovering priceless hidden treasure. This is how excited I get about helping you find joy. It’s like finding that invaluable treasure hidden within you.
The secret to finding joy is that joy is always there but it might be hidden. Sometimes we need a map to find it and help us navigate the twists and turns of the journey. The keys used to navigate the map are choice, mindfulness, and gratitude. Choice is a conscious choice to focus on those things that matter the most to you. Mindfulness is the awareness of your thoughts. Gratitude is the inner joy that radiates from thankfulness and keeps you always looking on the bright side.
First we have to trudge through the swampy waters of knowing yourself. Knowing what really is important to you and choosing to focus on that each day. Now I don’t mean that you’ll never have to do things you don’t enjoy, but I do mean you should be constantly aware of how you feel and prioritize your time based on things that have the most value to you. This means understanding your purpose, your values, your strengths, and who or what gives you “flow.” Flow is when you are doing something and in the moment, time flies by and feels like you could continue doing it all-day. It is the balance between challenge and comfort.
Next we have to cross the swinging bridge between things that are worth your time, and things that waste your time. One of the most valuable treasures in life is time. Why not spend the time you have on the things that matter most to you and provide the most value? In order to do this, you need to understand how you are spending your time and how that time makes you feel. Are you mindlessly scrolling through social media for hours or are you being mindful with the time you have and spending it with loved ones or on work you love? Once you figure out how to fill your time with the things that matter most to you, joy comes naturally.
The final trek is to cross the gratitude divide. The gratitude divide zig-zags between high mountains that inspire us and low valleys which are dark and hard to navigate. The way through the divide is to focus our attention on the peaks which remind us of all we have to be thankful for. Simply spending two minutes on gratitude per day can have exponential affects on your emotions in a positive way. If you really want to amp up the gratitude, write down all of the things you are thankful for, and then take a moment to feel the goodness inside of you. Let that radiate from the inside out and show yourself a smile! Smiling at yourself can create immediate joy and is contagious if shared with others.
Congrats! You’ve made it through the swamp, across the swinging bridge, and through the gratitude divide to where “X” marks the spot. “X” is YOUR joy. Now that you’ve found it you can share this discovery with others in your life so they can have their own adventure to discover the secret treasure of joy.
Enjoy MŌR JOY!