‘We are designed to move beyond simply preserving joy for our own lives and rise to become joy catalysts who change things in our sphere of authority.’Roland Worton It was this quote that really challenged me, to delve deeper into the area of Joy and think about how I can create a lifestyle or atmosphere, that will invoke more joy in those around me. Sometimes I think we need to be prompted with a view ‘one or two stages’ beyond where we are at, in order to put into perspective our current state and spur us on to realise there is more. As the quote suggests, so often we settle for preserving or surviving because our focus is on ourselves, and not wanting to lose what we have. We also think when it comes to helping others there will be a ‘cost’ to ourselves. However being a catalyst, does not necessarily mean giving ‘joy’ away to our detriment - ‘here have some of my joy!’. In fact the definition of ‘catalyst’ (something that makes a chemical reaction happen more quickly without itself being changed) invokes more of an engagement, where you touch or inspire others by sharing ‘you’. If you are full up and overflowing with Joy then that is what you will catalyse in others. We all have a ‘sphere of authority’ to catalyse too. Now your first reaction may be to say ‘I don’t have a sphere’. Well… you do, we all have authority/influence in some way. It could just be your family, one friendship, a neighbour, or it could be a multitude of people over social media. Numbers are not important here, what is, is the intention to engage with your sphere whether this is 1 person or 1 million. Put simply, throughout life we are designed to pass things on, to cultivate, activate and multiply. It is no different with Joy. So for this final insight on the subject of ‘Being More Joyful’, I am going to suggest some super simple things we can adjust / focus on that could help us cultivate an atmosphere around us that will invoke more joy in others. Let’s go👇
|
