JOY

I was sitting in my office last week after a particularly busy and stressful day of numerous Zoom calls and webinars. I looked across to the sofa to see my cat, Millie sound asleep. Under the desk, my dog, Bentley was doing exactly the same. I took a deep breath, paused, and in that moment experienced a sense of happiness, contentment, a feeling that everything was all right in the world. When I reflected on the feeling deeper, I realised it was joy. 

What is joy? The Oxford dictionary defines it as a feeling of great pleasure and deep happiness. Happiness may be derived from materialistic, worldly pleasures while joy is from soul satisfying, emotional wellbeing. 

In these days of Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity (a common acronym these days), it is useful for us as leaders to appreciate the things that bring joy to our lives.

So, as an exercise, pause for a moment, and list five things that bring you joy. Do you notice any themes? Are you incorporating enough of these into your daily lives to nourish your soul?