At a workshop that I attended, everyone was asked to make a list of “five things that bring joy”.   At the top of my list was dancing, because dancing and smiling go hand in hand for me.  So it was no surprise to me, or any of my friends, that dancing was at the top of my list.  However, what was a surprise for many of us, was that almost every woman in the room included dancing on her list – women of all ages, sizes, backgrounds and professions. 

And yet, 90% of those women said that dancing was not currently part of their life.  One of the top five things that brought them joy was missing from their life!  This not only got my attention but had everyone really stop to reflect on how they were making important life choices.

And choosing joy is an important life choice!  Without joy we tend to lose our sense our sense of self and our own inspiration.  Without choosing joy we tend to let all the “joyless” activities bring us down. 

So, how about it!  Right now, write down five things that give you joy!  And then choose to do at least one of those five things every day to honor yourself and bring you joy! 

While you’re writing your list, I’m putting on the music and dancing.

It would also give me joy to hear about the joyful things that you are doing for yourself, so please consider taking a moment to leave a comment and inspire other women to live with joy! 

Yes, I admit…I am a gold star addict. I want to tell you how motivated I am by long range results that occur somewhere in the next decade, except it is not true. It is the daily “atta-a-girls” I get from my newly created point system.

Do you work with a coach? Well, I do. She knows my strengths and gaps. Yep, she’s got me “profiled” and knows how I am hard-wired. She can recognize when I begin to slide on some of those daily production tasks when they are not my favorites. As I review my checklist, there is certainly one area I’ll want to avoid…Consulting…favorite! Executive coaching…favorite! Speaking…favorite! Prospecting calls…not as favorite!

How did my coach help me? By knowing me and my habits. Let me explain. There are 10 types of marketing, public relations or sales activities that I perform on a daily, weekly or monthly basis that lead to “revenue generated’. They include marketing campaigns, articles, blogging, prospecting contacts, networking, presentations, seminars, workshops, events and speaking events.

With the previous system, we carefully tallied the number of activities performed each week. Ho-hum. Numbers were not my motivator.  So, we devised a point system, where each task will generate points toward my daily goal of 50 points. How does the daily 50 help motivate me during the times I don’t feel like an Olympic Star?

1. Daily goals keep me on track upward!
2. Work stays interesting and fresh.
3. Choices bring flexibility and creativity.

So, I admit it. I love going for my gold stars every day…even though I hope you don’t tell. If you think it will work for you, devise your own system and maybe we’ll have our own gold star club together in the future.