52 Ways to Joy - Focus on now

"Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity, but in doing it."

~ Greg Anderson

Busy, busy, busy...aren't we all busy?

We have a hundred things on our schedules every day, from our jobs to our families to our volunteering or hobbies. Most of us need a calendar of reminders to keep up.

Every task, large or small, requires some kind of focus to the details to get the job done right.

My question for today is...how much joy in our day is lost to focusing on something else?

How often are we so consumed with what we have to do next, so what we're doing now doesn't get the attention it deserves. Multitasking may be a badge of honor to some people (or a desirable trait) but are we giving the things that need our attention the short end of the stick?

Add in the writer's world where we're in a constant state of plotting, editing, and listening to the voices in our heads...yowza!

Adding a little bit of joy into your day may just be a simple matter of learning to be in the moment - to giving 100% of yourself to whatever your doing or whoever you're with.

Don't think about what's for dinner while you get your child ready for school...talk about them and their day ahead.

Don't call your mother on the phone at lunch from work while you're writing out your bills and wolfing down a salad.

Take the extra few minutes to be engaged, to show up and give your all! Focus on the here and now and the small joy you might miss if you aren't paying attention.

Now, this isn't an easy task, because let's face it, it's just not how we've been programmed. Society demands our full plates and how lucky for us our cell phones can be set to send us reminders every fifteen minutes of what our next deadline is or where out next appointment is. We're bombarded with texts while we eat dinner or wake up to them in the morning from bosses and friends that work into the wee hours of the morning.

Don't let it suck you in. Enjoy that morning cup of coffee without reading your email. Talk to your significant other without the phone in your hand. Really pay attention to the moment and the people in it. Look for the joy - you just might find it!

Wishing you a joy filled week ahead wherever your travels lead.

 *52 Ways to Joy is a weekly post to celebrate the simple ways to bring joy into your life and those around you. It's about the small moments that makes memories and give us all a sense of contentment in the crazy world we live in. If you're joining me here for the first time, by clicking on the label  "52WTJ" you can read the previous posts!

** Because I love my readers and am grateful you choose to spend some time with me each week, all comments from March 1 to March 31 are automatically entered into my monthly drawing for a 3 pack of mini travel-sized handmade soaps. Details and the scents for the month can be found on the "contest rules" page.