finding balance – Cynthia D. Griffin

Happiness is a feeling of comfort and contentment. It’s a feeling of rightness and peace. It’s a beautiful thing. But joy… joy is a feeling of excitement and thrill. It’s a combined feeling of freedom, confidence, and absolute pleasure. There is no emotion (that I have yet to experience) bigger than joy. It’s happiness with a kick, and it’s freaking awesome.

I have been working hard to get to a place where happiness, peace, and joy are constant companions of mine. I’m still working on the constant part, but I would have to say these emotions are more with me than not. So for my benefit, and others, I am setting down here some of the key steps I have found to having more joy in my life.

1. Being More Grateful

The number one best way to bring any sort of positivity, happiness, peace, and joy into life is to be more grateful. That is how I started this journey towards more joy years ago, and my gratitude has only grown since. As it did, so did the best parts of my life. I have learned first hand that the more grateful I am, the more I will have to be grateful about. It really is that simple.

2. Being Aware of Your Mood

We cannot change our mood without first being aware of what our mood is in any given situation. So I have taken care to observe how I feel. I don’t judge myself for feeling upset or anger. I just notice what sets me off. What are my triggers, and how can I find ways to move past them or release them? I also pay attention to what makes me feel good. There’s a lot of power in just observing and being aware. A situation can’t change unless we are first aware of it.

3. Being Aware of What You Give Your Attention To

After becoming more aware of my mood, I then began to notice more specifics about what I was giving my attention to. I started to see distinct situations, people, and even thoughts that were dragging me down. It took time to identify everything, but the more attention I paid to my mood, the more aware I became of where my attention was going, and I started to cut back or completely cut out anything and everything that could be a potential joy stealer.

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Many of us give our power away on a daily basis, and we don’t even realize it. It’s an automatic reflex that chips away at the power we each hold inside of us. After a while, we can feel completely powerless because we’ve allowed so much to be leeched away.

Did you know that you can take that power back? You can feel more energized and happy. You can feel lighthearted and peaceful.

The first step to feeling more powerful of yourself and your life is to recognize who or what you are giving your power to. Anything that steals your time and energy is considered a power stealer.

What’s stealing your power?

People (family, friends, coworkers, acquaintances)
Things (books, tv, phone, computer, ect.)
Situations (this can be anything that makes you feel drained and empty)
Yourself (Your thought patterns and negative emotions)

Notice I put yourself on the list. It actually should be number one, because I believe that is the biggest power stealer of all. How many times have you caught yourself in a downward spiral of negative emotions? Or have you caught yourself giving yourself a bunch of negative self-talk? Be honest. It happens a lot, doesn’t it?

That’s okay, because being aware of bad habits is a good first step to releasing the power stealers so you can move forward in a more confident way.

Step 1: Make a List

So first things first, make a list of all your power stealers (including yourself), and just allow yourself to be an observer of your own life. Don’t judge. Don’t beat yourself up for falling down and letting the power stealer(s) suck you dry. Tomorrow is always a brand new day. A fresh start to try again.

Step 2: Be Patient

That leads me to the second step. Be patient with yourself. Don’t expect to be perfect or to sweep your whole life clean of power stealers overnight (or even in a week or two). It takes dedicated time and effort. Slowly, you will notice a change as you have more energy and creativity in which to do things.

Step 3: Find Balance

The next step is to find balance. What can you do to keep yourself centered and focused on what’s important in your life? Maybe even set up a daily routine that helps you shine. Try doing one or more of the following…

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