91 - Find Joy in the Process ... and the Progress
Find Joy in the Process … and the Progress
TL;DR (Too Long, Didn’t Read):
True joy is found in the doing, not in the achieving.
Sometimes you have to really work hard to find the joy in the process and the progress.
I’ve had this particular topic in mind for a while now but wasn’t sure how to approach it or write about it. So much popular literature now tells us that we don’t get joy from achieving our goals or our aims. In fact, achieving our goals can bring us down sometimes because it just means we have to set another, maybe even higher, aim the next time. To achieve happiness in productive pursuits, we’re supposed to find joy in the process and the progress.
But, how do you find joy in the process and the progress? Particularly when it’s hard? Going through cancer treatment has reminded me that the process and the progress are both joyful and challenging. I’m spending time with friends, I feel extremely cared for and loved, and I’m also annoyed and tired of treatment and I can easily get mired in how long I have left in treatment. I’m trying to stay focused on the parts that do bring me joy while also allowing myself the freedom and the flexibility to feel the sadness, anger, and devastation that this diagnosis has brought with it.
Joy isn’t a purely positive emotion. Joy is found in the in between moments. The little moments of laughter and purpose and light that pop up throughout all the doing. The celebration at the end will be amazing, but you also have to take time to enjoy those little moments of light all the way through the process.
What moment do you want to hold onto and savor from the last week? From the last month? What are you struggling through right now that you need to look for more joy in?
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What I published: Last week was a treatment week so it was very quiet last week. Hoping to get back into a normal publishing cycle again this week.
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