Fear and chaos are tactics used to keep us small. When the news feels like a “badly written dystopian science fiction movie,” it’s easy to feel like our personal happiness is a luxury we can’t afford. But the truth is, a community or a family is only as strong as the people within it. Reconnecting with your own joy is a way of saying: “I will not be depleted.”
For families trying to navigate this “high pressure world” reconnection is a radical act. We spend so much time being “on” for everyone else – partners, kids, and jobs – that we forget to check in with ourselves. The more I talk to people on their own healing journeys, the more I see a common thread: we have to take the pen of our story and our future back from those who convinced us we couldn’t have it.
This week, I challenge you to a “Joy Audit”. Spend ten minutes doing something that has nothing to do with your to-do list or your chores. Whether it’s a hobby, a genuine laugh with your family, or a long walk with the dog, these moments of Emotional Connection are what fill your cup back up. We cannot conquer out goals or seize our potential if we are overwhelmed and burnt out. By choosing to fill the space we’ve cleared with things that bring us life, we ensure we have the strength to “make a lot of noise” when it counts.
This week’s “Joy Audit” prompts:
- The 10-minute Hobby: Engage in one activity – painting, reading, wood-working – that has absolutely no “productive” value other than making you smile.
- The Purpose Connection: Call one person who is also on a “healing and growth journey” to discuss your future, rather than just venting about the “dystopian headline” or the latest family argument.
- Reclaim the Narrative: Write down one thing you are excited about for the coming month to “take the pen back” from the chaos of the world stage or the upcoming semester exams of your kids.
- Nature Reconnect: Take a walk (with the dog!) and focus entirely on your surroundings – the air, the movement, the sounds – to remind yourself that you are a “human being” first.