Crave Joy!

I am embarking today on a new adventure.  My goal and focus is to count the joys in my life on a daily basis.  With all that is going on in our lives and the negativity that you hear everywhere, it is easy to look past the joy's in our life.  I personally have been more focused on the pain and difficulty and have completely lost touch with what brings me Joy.  I'm a really positive person too!  It is just amazing how you can become so overwhelmed by a problem and totally ignore something Joyful.

If I were to sit down and make a list with Joy's on one side and Sorrow's on the other, most days my Joy's would outnumber my sorrow's 10-1.  Why do we focus on the negative so much?  I think it's all we hear about.  I get so wrapped up in solving something negative and obsessing about it, I miss all of the little things I usually take so much Joy in.   

So starting today, I'm going to make sure that no matter how small and corny it may seem, I celebrate all of the Joy in my life.  I have so much to be thankful for. 

The point of this exercise is to make myself realize that even the smallest things that we totally take for granted, are Joy's in our lives.  For example, my list for today would be:

1.  I woke up

2. I enjoyed my morning coffee

3.  I was able to shower, wash my hair & brush my teeth.

4.  My children are happy, healthy & we have a great relationship.

5.  I worked out this morning.

6.  I have a wonderful husband who I love and who loves me.

7.  Alec got a 3.0 in spring semester at NAU!!!!

8. Lunch with Karli

9. Paid my car off

And my day isn't over yet!  I have a lot more good stuff to come.

My sorrows are more like:

1) I don't like my belt.

2) It's getting cloudy

3) My email at the office isn't working

So as you can see, the good definitely outweighs the bad.  Yesterday, I was so mad about the problems with the office computer, I totally didn't take Joy in anything else.  I obsessed and it ate me up.  By the time I went home, I was in a total funk.  Not good.

So focus on your Joy's and take pleasure in each and every one of them, no matter how silly they may be.  I guarantee, your days will be sunnier and your outlook much brighter.  I think we can all use that about now :-)