Wisdom from Mrs. Kayla
6/1/20263 min read
Mrs. Kayla and I just returned from eight days at Disney World. We were walking through Hollywood Studios, where you’ll find all things Star Wars, and discussing what we were thankful for. The more we chatted the longer the list grew. The list was filled with people, experiences, provisions, and a life we do not deserve.
A certain word kept appearing in our list, joy. There’s the joy of me pursuing this dream of serving others through my company. The joy of doing what you were made to do. The joy of a vacation and the memories that come with it. There’s the joy of marriage and truly appreciating each other. The list grew rather long, and we became rather overwhelmed at all the goodness in our lives.
It was then Kayla made the most insightful comment, “Isn’t it amazing? We humans view a place like Disney or a vacation destination as somewhere that gives us joy and our home and routines as something to escape. What would happen if we changed our mindset and saw our homes and routines as that which gives us joy.”
Perhaps you do consider your home as a place of happiness. We certainly do. But we’ve never intentionally adopted a mindset that this is a place of joy. There are routines of life that can seem mundane and unfulfilling. Let’s be honest, not everything in life is meant to be a dream come true. There are struggles and lessons we must learn to help us grow and achieve. What zaps our joy? We often focus on the struggle and not what we are to learn from it.
This discussion on joy led to some action points for us. We truly want to bring that mindset of joy to our daily lives. What are some practical action steps we are going to take?
First, each day we will write down three things that happened that were good. We get so caught up in the drama and chaos of life that we forget to look for the good that is happening. Whether it’s a meal we shared, a book we’re reading, or a breakthrough with a client there is good to be seen. Perhaps it’s a laugh we shared or a memory we’re recounting. We’ve committed to write down three things that were good from every single day.
Second, comfort isn’t the norm. This is hard to write and confess. As humans we’ve gone from working to survive to overworking ourselves so we’re comfortable. We don’t just want comfort. The desire is for uber comfort. We want the path to be smooth and success to come easy. Our screens are filled with athletes who make winning trophies look like child’s play and we grow impatient and bitter if we can’t achieve the same level of success with very little effort. Comfort isn’t the norm because success has a price. If there’s a goal that is to be attained then we must be willing to pay the price. Also, if comfort isn’t the norm then perhaps we can stop complaining when things get uncomfortable. (That last sentence was hard to write. Convicted myself a bit.) Maybe if we rely less on comfort we’d have a little more joy.
Finally, be thankful. There’s someone out there who would love to have the life you are living. They’d give anything to eat the meals you consume, have the home where you live, and serve in your job. Be thankful for where you are, what you have, and the path you’re walking. Be thankful and you’ll experience joy.
Be like Mrs. Kayla. Stop complaining. Fight what makes you dread the day. Remind yourself of what is good. Celebrate the joy.
Leadership matters,
Brian