
Joy Triggers, Pt. 2: Building a Smile
I recently listened to a podcast where the gentleman being interviewed discussed his journey to self discovery through childhood traumas. Something he said in that interview blew my mind. He said, "I did the work to build my smile."

Joy Triggers
American culture has an obsession with hurt, pain, sadness, depression, and drama. At every turn we’re hearing bad news, we’re getting warnings and amber alerts. There is an almost constant stream of negativity and fear mongering messaging directed at us. And as a collective society we are often left to process those messages and traumatic experiences without support, or common language we can use to share how we're being impacted on the individual level. The experience of peace, happiness, and joy on a daily basis seems like a luxury only afforded to our favorite reality stars (and even those experiences are short lived).

What do you like?
"...joy is simplistic, on the emotional spectrum, it's not too far right or left—it's not an overt feeling of extreme happiness or extreme upset; but rather the midpoint between the two; the balance of emotion."

Hobbies???
As a wife, mom, former educator, and dare I say middle aged women. I have finally taken a step back from being all things to everyone and decided I wanted to do something for myself. But then - I was stuck. I mean the idea sounded great in my head…but what does “something for me mean”????
As I ‘ve gotten older, wiser, and with the help of therapy I am finally learning how to be…me. Working on being me is like trying to juggle flaming swords while riding a unicycle—except instead of swords, it's family, work, and the ever-present desire to keep being me. Let’s face it, showing up for others in a way that’s true to me without morphing into a people-pleaser is the ultimate balancing act. It’s SO hard ya’ll, but I’m pushing through.