Do you ever wonder if you’re on the right path? Does life seem so HARD sometimes? Is it suppose to be THIS hard? Or is this a challenge to see if you’re committed? Or are you suppose to recognize that DUH!!!! This is obviously NOT your path because it’s so bloody HARD.
Hard… what is hard anyway? At what point does something become hard? If you can’t finish it in 5 minutes? Or is it 30 minutes? Or 2 days?
How do you stay motivated when something is hard? What fuels the fire to continue?
When you’re on a path, and the journey yields great JOY, that’s the right path. Sometimes the journey is HARD, grueling, exhausting…and it yields a sense of exhilaration. When you work at something that’s HARD, and you see it through, your sense of accomplishment is magnified. You’ve really achieved something. Most of the stuff we do on a daily basis is mamby pamby…. What do you do that is hard?
For me, chemistry was hard. Really hard. And I hated it. It all meant nothing to me. My brain shut down. That was mentally hard. When it was over there was no sense of joy. Just the realization that I needed to change my major.
It was hard to carry the boxes of groceries up 2 flights of stairs this morning. They were really heavy. I didn’t want to drop them. That was physically hard. No sense of joy came when I put the boxes safely down on the counter, only a sense of relief.
It’s hard to explain to my mother for the 5th time that the kids aren’t home because they’re at school. “Where are the kids today?” she keeps asking… “At school mom. It’s a school day.” “Oh of course!”…. “Where are the kids today?”… and it goes on… until I excuse myself to go to the bathroom… a safe haven for a few minutes. But I can’t stay in there all morning… That is emotionally hard. There’s no joy here.
Technology is hard for me. But after working on my blog for Monday Morning Motivation—getting the words down, getting the picture right, filling out all the spaces in Mail Chimp, and finally hitting the button to schedule… that brings me great joy! Seeing the Monkey give me the thumbs up! I feel like I have really accomplished something! It’s really satisfying! It’s hard to fit all of the pieces together, but in the end, satisfying.
What about you? When do you feel like you’ve accomplished something? Where do you feel that sense of joy in your life? When you feel that joy, you know you are on the right path! We’re all put here with a calling and when we are living our calling, we feel that sense of joy… elation… finding meaning in our lives. It’s how we’re of service to others. The joy comes in the giving.
If you are missing that sense of joy in your life, look at where you’re giving to others. Look for places where you can use your talents to serve others. For me, my joy comes from teaching. Joy also comes from the attitude with which you serve others… giving from your heart is different than giving from your wallet.
Joy radiates light. The world needs more light. Give generously of your gifts. The gifts mean nothing when you hold them inside of you. They only grow strong in the giving. Now is our time to radiate light. Give generously of yourself.