What is on your to-do list for the week?
I’m sure it includes meetings, tasks, personal chores, and follow-ups, but does it include things that bring you joy?
We have an efficiency instinct – if I can just get everything done, then I’ll be happy. Unfortunately, you will never get everything done that you have to do, so if this is your measurement of success and happiness, you will be chronically disappointed.
Instead of waiting for happiness, make time for things that bring you joy. You can even focus on enjoyable things while doing the have-to do things. Slogging through paperwork? Light a candle and listen to your favorite tunes. Going for a drive? Listen to a stand-up comic or a great book.
And while you’re at it, dump any activity that “should” make you happy but doesn’t. You can “should” on yourself all day long, but if it doesn’t bring you joy, is it really where you want to invest your time and energy?
Make joy, happiness, and laughter a priority on your to-do list. After all, no one is going to stand over your grave and say, “She got done so much. She was so productive”.
Your resume and your eulogy shouldn’t be the same thing.
Don’t neglect what brings you joy and happiness—make it a ritual and part of your resilience-building routine.
About Anne Grady: Anne Grady is not your typical motivational speaker. She is a best-selling author, two-time TEDx speaker, trainer, survivor, optimist, inspirer, and a truth-bomb dropper.
Anne has a master’s degree in organizational communication and has spent the last twenty years working with some of the largest organizations around the globe. She has become known as a leading expert on communication, leadership, emotional intelligence, and resilience, contributing to Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, Inc. Magazine, FOX Business and many more.
Audiences love her raw honesty, edgy humor, authenticity, and insight. Anne shares inspiring personal stories, cutting edge, research-based content, and implementation tools to transfer learning into real life to improve relationships, navigate change, and triumph over adversity. And she’ll make you laugh while she does it.
For more information on Anne Grady, visit our website at https://speakers.speakernow.com/profile/32650?btsc=1