Quotes of the Week from Me:

“Meaningful adventures require a sustained commitment to time and effort.”

“Sit with it.”

“Where is the joy?”

Quotes of the Week from Others:

“Remember, being happy doesn’t mean you have it all. It simply means you’re thankful for all you have.” – Unknown

“Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.” – Pablo Picasso

“I needed that lesson.” – Unknown

Quick Optimism:

Easy sounds nice. Difficult feels nice, eventually.

It’s not always the case, but meaningful things are typically difficult. They require sustained commitment through time and effort. Lucky for you, the adventure is everywhere you look.

Pick one and go for it. 

Questions of the Week:

Where is your joy?

In roughly 3 weeks, we will be a quarter of our way through 2024. In some ways that is a lot of time, in other ways, we have so much time left in 2024. It is important to remember, reflect on, and restructure the things that we have going on. But again, where is your joy?

What have you been up to lately that has brought you the most joy? Have you been doing things that you have always done to relax or have fun, or are you trying something new?

When I sat down with these questions this week, I had two things come to mind: guitar and ice baths.

I think guitar is self-explanatory, but I’d like to add that I absolutely love singing too. I am pretty bad at it, but sometimes I’ll find myself hitting the right note randomly and I always feel very relaxed after I have played and sung long enough for my fingertips to be sore from pressing on the metal strings for the first time in a long time.

As for the ice bath example, I’ll start by saying that I have been taking ice baths since BEFORE the trend. There is a lot of debate surrounding the actual benefits, and how long you should actually stay in the cold water, but it is my latest way of bonding with my wife.

It is a fun daily challenge and I crack up every time she tries to “just go for it.” That’s what she says on repeat, “I just need to go for it. I just need to do it.”

“So, do it!” I yell back at her from the porch.

It still bothers her that I can sit in 43-degree water for 15 minutes. I think her record is a minute and a half. Room for progress!

Make it a joyful Monday.