A topic very close to my heart is joy.
This central belief informs all of the work I do with my clients and my family. No matter where you are in life, no matter what is swirling around us, 𝙬𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙟𝙤𝙮.
If you are not having fun, if you are not being a little adventurous, I invite you to get curious about your day to day.
𝗝𝗼𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵.
𝗝𝗼𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗲.
𝗝𝗼𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿.
Focusing today on Joy in your relationship.
𝙅𝙤𝙮 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨—like sharing a smile over coffee or your trip to the farmers market together—all the way to the happiness of embarking on life’s greatest adventures!
𝗦𝗼 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗲 𝗼𝗯𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀? 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝗶𝘀…𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳.
𝙃𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙗𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙩𝙤𝙤. It’s critical to do everything we can to believe in, support, and validate not only our spouse’s values, goals, and dreams, but our children’s as well. For example, I’m an extrovert and I married an introvert. He joins me on my love of travel, exploration and meeting new people. I join him in staying put, alone time and quiet walks with just the two of us.
𝙐𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙏𝙤𝙪𝙘𝙝. A pat on the back, a squeeze of the hand, an arm around the shoulder. Such gestures are often quick and inconspicuous, but they are not inconsequential. Indeed, the science of touch suggests that this physical contact can improve and nurture your health (mentally, physically AND emotionally). 𝙄𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙮 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙪𝙚𝙙.
Express admiration, appreciation and affection. One of the key conclusions of research in more joy filled relationships is that they are characterized by a ratio of positive to negative affect of 5 to 1. So- make raising your positive affect ratio a weekly goal. 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚, 𝙖𝙙𝙢𝙞𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙨𝙚.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗳𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗴𝗼 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿?
What happens when you think of your marriage as another “to-do” vs. turning it into an energy source for you?
Loving you!
Lisa