Cultivating Joy: A Practice for Every Season

Joy doesn't wait for perfection; it thrives in the here and now, and I promise it's closer than you think.

In this heartfelt conversation, we'll uncover how small acts and genuine attention can transform our lives, illustrating the power of joy as an active and abundant force. Take just five minutes today to indulge in something that brings you joy and notice the profound effect it has on your spirit. Tune in and welcome the power of joy. 

Chapters

• 0:28 Finding Joy in Everyday Life
• 9:10 Discovering Joy in Daily Life

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:28

What brings you joy? I'm asking not as a passing thought, but as a deeply reflective question. For me, joy looks like so many things. For instance, reading takes me to places my feet have never touched, but my heart knows intimately. The togetherness with my kids and hearing their laughter is a symphony that breaks through the mundane and the tiredness. Podcasting, as surprising as it might seem, for me at least, is time where I get to connect, share and grow, and that brings me immense joy. Traveling feeds my soul in ways words cannot fully express y'all, and witnessing and witnessing others rise into a success they once thought impossible, that is one of the most joy-filled experiences of all.

Speaker 1: 1:33

Now, it was not so long ago that my joy-filled experiences were few and far between. I was consumed by the what's next mindset, what needs fixing, what needs finishing, what's falling apart. I was weighed down, weighed down with a weighty mindset. Everything was a weight, a responsibility, an obligation, those same things that I just mentioned that brought me joy. Previously, I'd been viewing through the lens of a weighty mindset, for example, my kids. I wanted to make sure everything was right, even with the adult child. So I was working to make sure they had this, then make sure that they had that. I was working to make sure that this, this, that make sure that they had that. I was working to make sure that this didn't happen and that didn't happen. I was working so much that I was missing them growing up. I was missing the laughter, I was missing even the heartaches that they were going through and the disappointments Because I was too busy trying to make everything right in my own way. And then, for all that working constant listener the unthinkable happened. I lost it all and I had to accept that what I lost will never be recovered. But here's the key, here's the shift. I should say, rather, I'm building. I'm building with a joyful mindset. I'm building with a free mindset because in all of the loss, constant listener, I still had those things that brought me joy on the inside my kids, my love of reading, my traveling, my passion of helping others. And I can't tell you when I realized, amid all the loss and the mess, that I still had those thoughts, joyful moments, that those joyful moments could still exist in the mess. I can't tell you when I had that epiphany or revelation, and it was in fact in a quiet, single, reflective moment, while I was reading, that I experienced the simplicity, the understanding of the simplicity of joy, and it was a single scripture that spoke to my heart. Right, but I remember it said the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy. That's it. I'm your hostess with the mostest, nalita Hollis.

Speaker 1: 4:27

You're tuned in to Ways to Win, wednesday on One Degree to Victory, the only podcast that supports women through family traumas. Using my experiences to offer hope, practical strategies and the mindset shifts needed to rise. It's time to lock in, load up and lean in. That means clearing away your distractions, focusing your mental and emotional energy and channeling it fully into today's message. Make it more than a topic, make it a breakthrough.

Speaker 1: 4:55

And today we're talking about joy, what it is and what it isn't, finding joy and then creating the space, intentional space for activities that bring you joy, that bring you joy. So joy isn't some fleeting feeling reserved for those moments when life looks perfect. Joy isn't waiting for the right circumstances or the right stars to align. It's not something we get in air quotes right Once we've checked off a list of external achievements or fixed everything that feels broken. Joy is found in the reality of your everyday life, not in some idealized version of it. It's in the messy, and the beautiful, the broken and the whole. Joy is here. Joy is now in the small moments that we sometimes miss because the noise of life drowns them out. Come on, constant listener, because the noise of life drowns them out. Come on, constant listener.

Speaker 1: 5:53

Joy is not a passive experience. It's active and transformative. And it's easy to find joy when everything feels right, but it's transformative. Listen to me to experience it when nothing seems to be going your way. That is the kind of joy that sustains you. When I'm fully present in these spaces, whether I'm watching my family's togetherness, reading or even recording this podcast, shifts happen. I discover solutions to problems, I get creative inspiration and I receive clear guidance on my next steps. My spirit becomes aligned with this physical realm. Downloading wisdom on how to navigate life, moving on being joyful, is a good fight and yes, constant listener, it is a fight.

Speaker 1: 6:46

Because life is loud, there's always something vying for your attention and often those things are not joy filled. Life is loud, there's always something vying for your attention and often those things are not joy filled. The noise of comparison, stress, worry and the responsibilities drown out the whispers of joy. But when you commit to opening yourself up to the possibility of joy. You begin to realize that joy isn't as elusive as you thought. It is in, in fact, very abundant. A word of caution, and to be clear joy doesn't mean that you ignore the hard things. It means you face them with a heart that's open to the beauty that still exists in your life. Let me say that again Joy does not mean that you ignore the hard things. It means that you face them with an open heart, focusing on the beauty that still exists in your life. It's a perspective shift. That's all A way of being that invites you to live life fully.

Speaker 1: 7:51

Worry is joy's thief. What are you worrying about that you don't have a solution to? Yet you will replay the same worrisome dialogue over and over in your head. You repeat it with your mouth, your worries. I know because I was the same way, and then my worries turned into fear, my God. And then my fears turned into paralyzing behaviors, y'all. I got stuck in a cycle. I was not able to get up out of bed and face the day when I was worried about some stuff.

Speaker 1: 8:24

Joy is a fight. A fight for freedom from the slippery slope of worry. Yes, a fight for freedom from the slippery slope of worry. Yes, yes, we will have our concerns, but they are not our worries. Our concerns have solutions, worries don't.

Speaker 1: 8:43

So I hear you saying, miss H, I don't have time to do what I love. My answer is of course you do. Of course you do. Constant listener, welcome it in. I understand life's demands. I get it as a single mother. You think once I finished this project or when I get to this stage in my life, then I'll feel joy. But joy, like I said, isn't waiting for you on the other side of your to-do list. It's here, it's now and it's in the moments that you make space for.

Speaker 1: 9:10

Joy doesn't demand extravagance, flashing cameras, packed stadiums full of cheering crowds or lavish parties with hundreds of guests. It simply asks for your quiet, genuine attention. When you incorporate doing what brings you joy into your day, even in small doses, it changes everything. It won't erase the hard stuff, but it'll give you the strength to face it. You'll notice the good in the middle of the struggle. You'll become more present, more grateful and more alive. I want you to take five minutes today, just five, and do something that brings you joy. Until next time, I am your hostess with the mostest Nelita Hollis, reminding you to love yourself a little more than you did yesterday. I love y'all. Now go find your joy.