Joy strategy

Dear Team Joy,

Please excuse my absence for the last six weeks. I have not loved you any less during this time. 🙃

I was really struggling with my health and needed to turn my attention to doctor visits, insurance, getting vaccinated for the potential new drug side effects, and taking it easy with family. Thankfully, the new drug I started a few weeks ago, Rinvoq, is already significantly reducing my symptoms: giving me more energy to re-engage in the world, and with this community. 💚

Every time I get overwhelmed with symptoms and pain it feels like I go into a hole. I cancel most social engagements, stop calling my friends back, and reduce my professional commitments as much as possible. My internal world is in distress and calls for all of my attention. If you have suffered with a chronic illness, depression, or an intense emotional low like grief, you know the hole I am talking about.

For most of us, if we are lucky, the hole passes. Then we re-emerge to the wreckage our absence caused: the spread of cancellations and let downs in our wake, the friends we never called back, the opportunity in our inbox we never responded to. We hope people will forgive our temporary self-centeredness. Most people are more than happy to extend grace.

It’s then we realize we are the one’s withholding compassion from ourselves, for failing to meet our own high expectations. For not showing up in the world the way we wanted to. For having to sit in the sad realization that time waits for no one.

I missed things. Lots of things. I lost momentum. I lost connections. I lost opportunities. I missed out.

The sadness and anger is so big, it starts trying to run my life.

There’s only one thing that gets me through:

Gentleness.

When I remember it, gentleness is what allows me to continue to show up as a professional, partner, friend, and daughter.

My internal voice lies to me saying it’s better to not show up at all than to show up as this version of me. It’s better to quit all my commitments than to continue to embarrass myself by letting everyone down all the time. To let myself down all the time.

But there’s a stronger voice within me that knows that the perfectionist voice is a lie.

This gentler voice reminds me:

I am worthy of picking up the pieces and starting again.

I am worthy of taking in a breath, acknowledging my grief, and reorienting myself back towards joy.

I am worthy of offering my talents and services to others, even if sometimes I feel overwhelmed by my disease.

I am worthy.

And so are you.

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As we head into the New Year, no matter the year you have had, you are worthy of starting again. You are worthy of taking a deep breath and recommitting to your own joy.

I know the compassion it takes to believe that. I am living it. I offer you the strength it requires to look outward and imagine what can be if you listened to yourself next year.

I have been thinking about what’s one way I can joyfully be of service, and so have decided to offer Joy strategy sessions as we head into the new year.

Joy strategy sessions: 50 mins, entirely focused on you and your joy in 2024.

Come with the big question on your heart, or let me guide you through a strategic planning process that takes your joy as seriously as management consultants take annual planning. (But way more fun). 🥳 There’s no pre-requisite, no place you have to be, no accomplishments you need to have already made. Just bring you. 🤗

I am offering my time at 50% off ($150) for anyone who books by midnight on Dec. 31st.

Stay tuned for more. Offer yourself gentleness. Take your joy seriously.

Big hugs,

Isabel