“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.”
~ Zig Ziglar
What motivates you?
For many of us, fear has been a powerful motivator for most of our lives. As kids, we may have feared not being liked, or fitting in, or failing. As adults, these fears may continue to motivate our behavior and lead us to make choices that are not empowered or authentic.
As a result, maintaining our motivation may be a challenge.
But when we are motivated by joy, we have an endless supply of energy and encouragement.
Take exercise for example. If you are only motivated by the fact that you could become overweight or develop heart disease, you will only exercise when the anxiety about those issues is high.
If on the other hand, you choose an exercise you love and brings you joy, you will be internally motivated to continue. You will benefit both from the exercise and the rejuvenation you receive from doing something joyful.
Now finding joy may be challenging when you are feeling depressed or experiencing the despair of the world. Maintaining your motivation during these difficult times can be almost impossible. That is why cultivating a joy reserve is essential.
“Find a place inside where there’s joy, and joy will burn out the pain.” ~Joseph Campbell
One exercise I offer to my clients to support them in this process is to create a joy list. Creating a joy list has the power to motivate us by creating clarity and a visual reminder of what brings us joy. If you include ideas you can engage in every day, you will easily cultivate your joy reserve. Your motivation will increase as well as your ability to cope with the challenges of life. As Henri J.M. Nouwen reminds us, “Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.”
Create your joy list and choose joy each and every day, as you nurture peace in the world from the inside out!
Sending you so much peace, love and gratitude,
Kelley Grimes, M.S.W.
Counselor, Author & Speaker
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Awesome Kelley. I always read through your blog smiling because of the effect your words have on me. I just so love the quote by Zig Ziglar.
I am going to create my joy list and continue choosineg joy over all.
Thank you so much for your kind words Leila! I am thrilled you are going to create your joy list and continue choosing joy each day!
Kelley,
Awesome sauce! I created a ‘nope’ list a couple years ago when I decided to no longer tolerate certain things in my life and put forth the intention to take better care of ME; inside and out! I also created a ‘I Am’ list to remind myself of my greatness! 🙂 Now, I must create a ‘JOY’ list!!!! This is so exciting…a gift for my soul! 🙂
Going to create my JOY LIST for sure! ON my Joy List is our friendship.
And I think I’m kinda already doing that when I write my daily Always Appreciating in Advance List…and this is a lovely extension of the practice. As always, short, sweet, and succinct word wisdom, Kelley! xo
Thank you so much for your kind words Lore! I am so grateful for your friendship as well and so appreciate your comments! I love your Always Appreciating in Advance List!
Joseph Campbell’s quote really jumped at me. Find my joy and let it burn through the pain. Yes indeed. That’s what yoga did for me. So does crocheting and painting but it is through my yoga practice that I peeled back layers and layers of carefully crafted pain.
Love this!
Peggy the Joseph Campbell quote really inspired me as well and although I am a big fan it is the first time I have read that quote. Joy has been a great gift to support my ability to burn through my pain and I love how you use your yoga practice to peel back the layers of pain and express your truth. Thank you so much for your comment!
I used this quotes countless times in my practice 🙂 And absolutely agree, when we are motivated by joy we feel more inspired and the struggle melts away.
I love that the struggle melts away as we feel more inspired by joy! Thank you Rachel!
I absolutely love the Zig Ziglar quote Kelley-it made me laugh out loud! I have created a joy list before. In creating the list I was surprised to discover how many of my regular activities give me joy. I also used that consciously when doing these activities and found that it rejuvenated me, something I hadn’t noticed before because I was caught up in the doing of it. I also found that there were some things I didn’t do enough of and began weaving them in…
How wonderful that you found that many of your regular activities bring you joy Crystal and that your joy list has deepened the way you nurture yourself. I so appreciate your insight and comment! Thank you!
I love the Zig Ziglar quote you shared Kelley! I find joy to be a master motivator. Thank you for suggesting a joy list – great idea!
I love that you find joy to be a master motivator Debra! Thank you so much for your comment!
“…and joy will burn out the pain.” Joy list, here I come! Thanks so much.
Thank you for your loving comment Barb! Enjoy!
I love the joy list! I have one myself 🙂
I am so happy you do Sarah and hope it inspires you to nurture yourself and your joy reserve each and every day! Thank you!
This is a wonderful post and a counter-cultural idea, albeit a healthy one. I love the quote from Nouwen – one of my favorite spiritual authors. I had a conversation with my memory care elders recently and they too said that we choose joy. Life can be difficult, but one’s choice makes such a difference. Creating and keeping a list helps foster an awareness of joy, in the midst of happy and sad times. Thank you!
So insightful that creating and keeping a list helps us foster an awareness of joy even in the midst of pain and sadness Meghan. Thank you for your thoughtful comment. I am so grateful!
We have to keep choosing joy and choosing it everyday.
Fantastic way of putting it. Deeply resonates.
I also love this quote “Find a place inside where there’s joy, and joy will burn out the pain.”
Very encouraging blog