By Trish Perry, PCC, 50 Fun Things Alum
“Trish, what brings you joy?”
My therapist and I thought this was a pretty innocent question. I rattled off things like, entertaining, cooking for others, helping friends decorate and organize, family dinners, volunteering, coaching and concerts.
He stopped and thought of a kind way to say, “No, what brings YOU joy? Without caring for anyone else? Concerts are the only thing you have mentioned where you aren’t doing something for others.”
He had a point. The things that brought me joy in my life came from cooking for others, helping others, doing for others.
So, last year, during my Power Path Goal Success Workshop, I set a goal unlike any other.
I decided to uncover joy in my life.
I wrote down things that used to bring me joy when I was younger like horse back riding and drawing.
And then I was stuck!
50 Fun Things® founder, author and master networker Teresa Thomas was a great resource to get me unstuck.
Every year Teresa puts on several workshops called “50 Fun Things" for individuals and groups. I highly suggest looking into this!
I created a list of 50 things I wanted to do or thought would be interesting to try, and I did them.
If it brought me joy, I added it to my joy list.
What did I find that brought me joy, without doing something for or caring for others?
Concerts- I love live music!
Horseback Riding
Silversmithing
Drawing, Pastels and Alcohol Inks
Hammocking under Weeping Willow trees
Sitting in nature, watching the water and listening to the waves lap on the shore
Going to Ghost Ranch - doing art, riding horses on the ranch, walking the labyrinth
DIY Manicures with “Color Street” nail strips
Watching videos of babies laughing
This is one of the differentiators of my Power Path Goal Success Workshop. It is not about setting 3-5 very pragmatic goals. It is about first writing your success story as if you have already achieved a successful year. Then you pull your goals from your story.
Goals that are aligned with your values. Goals that you WANT to achieve.
I wrote things in my story that I didn’t expect – like finding joy.
Through the Power Path Goal Success process, I uncovered my goal of finding joy. 50 Fun Things guided me where to look and ways to take action in discovering what brings me joy.
In the past, that goal would have been “too soft”, “not measurable enough” or “a copout”.
But last year I chose finding joy as a goal.
Best of all? I SUCCEEDED!
Trish Perry, PCC is a Master Certified Results Coach with Harmonize Coaching. If you want to set your goals and achieving success in a different way check out Trish's Power Path Goal Success Workshop on setting goals for the year and creating plans to SUCCEED. Power Path Goal Success isn’t just about planning. It is also about creating support for accountability so you can succeed. Learn more at www.powerpathprocess.com or contact Trish directly.
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