When people describe me, the thing I hear over and over is “Shannon is so good at seeing the good and expressing joy”.  It feels like joy is my spiritual gift but when I think back on my life I definitely have spent time wandering around in negativity.  

I grew up in a household where we focused on what we were grateful for but I remember dabbling in negativity in middle school, high school and the beginning of college.  Towards the end of high school and going into college, I really started to recognize that I didn’t want to live the life those negative thoughts unfolded.  I started to really understand that our thoughts create our experiences.  By the time I graduated from college, I was firmly rooted in paying attention to my thoughts.  I would notice my thoughts and ask “Are these thoughts I want to live?”  If they weren’t then I would work toward changing them typically by applying spiritual truth to the situation or belief.  

It wasn’t too long ago that I heard something that Brene Brown shared after conducting research on joyful people.  She found the #1 thing people who were joyful had in common were they had boundaries.  I had never thought of it this way but that totally resonated with me.  That was what I had been doing - I had boundaries around the thoughts I allowed myself to think; I had boundaries around the time I spent filling myself up spiritually; I had boundaries around shows I would watch; I had boundaries around who I would hang out with; I had boundaries around conversations I would have or even be around.; I had boundaries/routines around my habit of writing at least 5 things I am grateful for before I went to bed every night; praying before bed; in the morning I woke up and focused on being grateful and expecting a blessed day.

Joy is my natural state.  When I look at infants who have been cared for, I think joy is everyone’s natural state.  Babies are joyful.  Along the way, life, family beliefs, world beliefs and experiences draw us away from our natural joy.  It is still there.  I help my clients remember their joy and create habits to move them towards living a joy filled life.

Smile! Joy awaits you!