The Choose Joy Plan

People (smart people) have been telling me for a while to trust myself, to do what brings me joy, and to trust that the Universe has got my back. And to the intellectual, rational, socially constructed part of me THIS SOUNDS INSANE.

Are you telling me I can build a thriving business and life just by watching movies and eating chocolate all day?? That I can spend my time playing with my kids (who, in this fantasy, are never cranky and always want to play with me) and reading my YA novels and getting massages while money magically appears in my bank account and the laundry miraculously folds itself??

Um, no. But getting all snarky about it is a fantastic way for me to NOT LISTEN to what these people are really saying.

Once I stop being angry and rolling my eyes I can hear the truth: We get this lifetime.

Whether or not you believe we come around more than once, right now we are here, in these bodies, with these specific humans and these gifts and these circumstances, and whatever time we've been given. What are you going to do with that time?

And what are you willing to let go of so you can have more of what's actually important to you?

I mean both the practical stuff (I can't both bake hamentaschen from scratch and write copy to launch 10 Little Miracles in the one hour I have available) and the emotional stuff--like the trifecta of guilt, fear and shame that accompanies so many of the things we don't accomplish.

And how about this: are you willing to accomplish less and enjoy more?

Are you willing to disappoint expectations (your own or others') that don't actually match the life you want to live?

And, while we're at it, are you willing to be honest about the life you really want to live?

That part can be hard and scary because (a) a lot of us aren't used to actually sitting down and thinking about it, we're on autopilot; (b) we don't want to sit down and think about it because we know deep down that we're pretty off course from where we really want to be; and (c) we're scared that we can't really have what we want, so why torture ourselves?

The thing is, we know inside when we're not being truthful with ourselves, and it has a cost. The cost is living a pretend life, working toward goals you don't really care about and giving up the magical moments in which you feel truly alive, connected and awed by the miracle of it all.

Want to experiment with this way of being? How about join me on the Choose Joy plan? It's not a program, it's nothing complicated--it's just a way to experience life more consciously and joyfully, and it looks like this:

When you have multiple things you could be doing and you only have time for one, pick the one you really want to do.

See what happens.

That's it.

Here's an example:

I love the holiday of Purim. It is FUN!! People give you CANDY!! And I get to bake and dress up and be silly with the kids!

This year I had to pick. I couldn't do it all. So this is how far I got with my homemade hamentaschen:

And the fact that you did not receive an email about the March 1st 10 Little Miracles start date is how far I got with that particular bit of marketing. (You can still join, by the way--the February group blew their projects out of the water!!)

But I DID pour my heart into helping my son get what he needs at school.

And I DID NOT make myself feel bad for more than 30 seconds about everything I wasn't getting to.

And I DID get to spend the holiday with my kiddos:

Which means that I picked the most important things (for me), so...I WIN!! The Choose Joy plan is helping me course correct and create my own version of a well-lived life. Join me!!