What does Joy look like for you?  Heading into the holidays this time of year can be especially hard for some people and as part of a work-life balance episode, I thought I would share some things that might help you not only discover how to find positivity every day but also what you can do to harness this feeling and apply tips to your everyday life. Recently, this topic came up in a conversation about how joy is power.  Think about that for a moment. 

When we feel joy, it is hard for negativity to take hold and bring us down.  Applying this to our working life first, when we smile and feel good the effect seeps into every aspect of our day.  Conversely if we are feeling frustrated, small things can make us self-doubt and feel less than about ourselves. 

I started this podcast to help empower marketers-specifically women in our industry who are looking for more-opportunities, expanding your network, gaining visibility with leaders in your organization, getting promoted and finding confidence. 

Here is a real-world situation:

Imagine you are in a meeting, and there is an opportunity to voice your idea but a colleague seizes the moment and you miss out.  Our body language and demeanor can quickly give away how we are feeling inside-and naturally it is more the opposite of joy-anxiety, sadness, self-doubt can start whispering in you ear.  The next time the opportunity comes your way-it may be easier to just say nothing instead of subjecting yourself to those feelings.

Now-take that same scenario and close your eyes.  As you enter the room-you have a smile on your face.  It actually makes you stand a little taller and you feel confident.  While others are speaking, you smile in appreciation of their comments.  And when it is your turn to express that idea, you feel confident and without hesitation.  If the colleague mentioned earlier tries to cut you off, you maintain that smile and ask that you are afforded the chance to finish your idea.

Same situation-but the outcome will be vastly different.  In the second one- you find that you are in control-because you have chosen your own joy.  No matter how awesome your workplace is, there will always be at some point a situation that can pop the happiness bubble and move you from feeling on top of the world to not so great.

Now you may start to say-yes but I have reasons for not feeling happy at this moment.  I am sure this can be true.  But if any of us want to advance our careers, change perceptions or improve our health-we need to tap into joy, hold on to it, and the next part is super important-send it back out into the world.

For busy marketers, it is easy to get lost in the tasks of it all and miss the chance to hone the joy effect in your daily practice.  Don’t get me wrong-I don’t always feel joyful.  But I have observed that this idea of happiness has a direct correlation to success and to achieve it, we need tools to stay on track.  And once we express this joy at work, it will spill over into our personal lives. 

There are traps that can cause us to not find our joy. And many physical and physiological things that can also impact how we are able to process positivity.  So, what can we do to stay on track and gear up for the last two months of the year if you are listening to this episode when it releases it is the beginning of November.  Depending on where you live, the weather has turned colder, there is less sun and it can also impact how we feel.

10 Ways to Add Joy and Build Your Personal Power

1. Get enough sleep. One of the first physical ways we can lose our happiness is when we are simply over-tired.  Roll back the bedtime commitment and get 7 hours minimally of sleep.  Think about when you are exhausted how easy it is to feel short and frustrated-and when you feel rested.  You may say-everyone knows now that sleep is one of the number ways to maintain health-but are you getting enough?  Most of us get less than 7 hours, or it is intermittent. 
   1. I have a sleep hack to share-the app AAPTIV actually has sleep meditations. I use it almost every night either going to sleep or when I can’t sleep.
2. Express gratitude. Every day, I write 5 things I am grateful for in my Start today Journal.  Rachel Hollis has these journals-link in the show notes and I can honestly say it is not only a dream maker but the gratitude fills up the cup.  Rachel suggests the things we write should be small-it can be someone opening the door for you when your arms are full to giving up a seat on public transit when you were tired.
3. Be thoughtful. My favorite quote is by Maya Angelou-People will forget what you say, they will forget what you do, but they will never forget how you made them feel.  I personally get way more joy out of giving than receiving.  It is something I try to incorporate always to help lift others up.  Especially if I am having a difficult day-I try to do something for someone-either a stranger or it can be someone I know.
4. Start the morning fresh. Resist starting your day on your phone. I know.  This is one I have to work at-and am not always good at.  But in a previous episode 15, I talked about productivity.  When we feel less productive, it has a direct impact on how we feel-and less joyful.
5. Just say no. It is so tempting to say yes when someone asks for help.  I am very guilty of over extending and wanting to do things beyond time constraints.  I now say “Does this give me joy?”
6. Make your self-care a priority. Rachel Hollis has a 5 to Thrive strategy that is very effective.  I encourage anyone listening to try it and see how it goes:
   1. Drink at least half of your body weight in water
   2. Work out at least 30 minutes every day
   3. Get up 30 minutes early
   4. Give up one food for 30 days-sugar for example or something you know isn’t serving you.
   5. Express gratitude every day

Check out The Hollisco.com for these and many more tips like #last90days

1. Make sure you are balanced. This is just for our women listeners-but if you are feeling out of sorts it could be hormones, low vitamin D, Thyroid or other things that happen to us and if untreated can lead to more serious illness.  When we don’t feel our best it definitely impacts how we express ourselves at home and work.
2. Do one thing every day that makes you smile. It can be looking at YouTube and laughing at a funny video.  I will share with you here a video about what it is like to be on a conference call-link in the show notes.  Makes me laugh every time.
3. Take time out in the day to breath fully. We hold our breath and it can have adverse effects on how we feel.
4. Smile even when you don’t feel like it. Walking into a tense meeting, your inclination may be to shrink down, sit with your legs crossed and shoulders down.  Smile, visualize joy, imagine you are in a place that makes you feel happy and express yourself to others in this light.

1. As with every episode, if you found this information helpful, reach out to me.  I love hearing from you and am honored to help you in your journey.

Favorite Resources for this episode:  Start Today Journal, Strive for Five, Girl Stop Apologizing, #Last90days are all Rachel Hollis products and books that can be found at The Hollis Co and look at her Rise conferences she has one coming up this week called Rise Business.

Credits: As always, a big thanks to Christy Haussler at Team Podcast for editing this episode.