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Negotiating Joy in the Journey

As I look out the window and see rain pouring down (again) I’m reminded of the ‘April showers bring May flowers’ proverb. At first, I prided myself on my ability to bring a positive perspective to the doldrums of the rain. But I quickly realized that I still have work to do as even that ‘spin’ sets a negative, disempowering tone.

Language matters. Our brain tries to give us what it thinks we want. When I quip that ‘April showers bring May flowers’, I’m really training my brain to see April (and its showers) as something I need to persevere through to get to the May flowers. That perspective brings resistance with it.

What if, instead, I focused on the sheer joy of the showers themselves? Not as a journey to get to the ultimate destination of flowers, but rather, as an exceptional experience in and of itself.

What if I trained my brain to appreciate the wildly divergent sound patterns that the rain brings us – a symphony of music, changing tempo and tone moment to moment. And what if I celebrated the dance of the raindrops as they hit different surfaces, creating art in the myriad of unexpected patterns that emerge. What if I closed my eyes and breathed in the rich earthy smells the rain evokes.

Rather than April showers being something to endure on the journey to May flowers, they would become a gift that brings joy in the journey.

And what if we applied that principle to our lives? Think of any task you have on your plate at the moment. I invite you to choose to appreciate each step of the journey enroute to completion of that task. And yes, it is a choice.

You get to determine where you put your focus and what meaning you attach to your thoughts. Negotiating your mindset may be the most important negotiation you undertake in every moment of each day. You can focus on the end goal, seeing each step in the process as a necessary evil to reach that goal. Or you can embrace those interim steps as moments to be fully experienced and enjoyed along the way.

Consider your bigger vision and dreams for your life. Do you see the steps along the path to that vision as a grind, a trial or a tribulation? I invite you to ensure you choose mindful presence in each moment as you move toward your vision. Choose joy in the journey.

If your brain tries to give you what we want, how much more empowered will your adventures be if you train it to find the joy? To seek the beauty and gifts. To bask in gratitude in each moment.

Imagine how much better your life can be when you accept that you hold the power to train your brain to seek more positive and uplifting evidence. Simple perspective shifts can be gamechangers in life. You can choose to adopt one of these gamechangers now.

From attending to small tasks, to relationship building, to building an empire, choose joy in the journey. How simple is that?

Cindy Watson
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