Leading with joy may seem like a luxury, a privilege but for me it is mandatory. Now, I am not saying every single day of my life is full of inherent joy but I will say that I have worked intentionally to keep joy as my baseline. Life happens; ups, downs, lefts, rights, wrongs, indifferent’s and more, but my baseline, my home, where I will return is to joy.
So, what does joy mean to me? Joy is an essence of alignment and an embodiment of gratitude. Joy is peace, joy is hope, optimism and being present. Joy is appreciation of: beauty, excellence, myself and others. Joy is God. Joy is love. Joy is fun. Joy is liberation.
I choose joy because if I don’t, life will try to choose a different narrative for me. When I choose joy, I laugh, I connect, I inspire, I become inspired, I appreciate, I engage, I elevate, I levitate, I am curious, I am light. Joy allows me to minimize feelings of offense, joy allows me to broaden my perspective, joy makes room for meaningful productivity, joy allows me to forgive, it invites patience and optimism. Joy is practical for me. Which is why I have dedicated my life to learning and evolving. The more I learn, the better I take care of my mental health, the more I choose quality relationships, the more courageously authentic I am, the more joy that I invite in. Joy is microscopically tiny…joy is ABUNDANTLY LOUD. In the small things and the tall things, joy can be found.
The Gears of Joy
On my journey I have been stripped of my joy and brought back to it more times than I can count but the important piece of that is…I am always brought back home, back to joy. Studying myself and reflecting deeply with God opened my eyes to an idea, CREATE A ROADMAP! This is how I developed the model and framework Gears of Joy. I often reference myself, body and existence as a vehicle, a vessel and like any vehicle or vessel “ourselves” require maintenance, care and even upgrades. The Gears of Joy portrays the stages of the journey toward joy, so that if you are ever lost, feeling stuck or feeling as if your joy is being stripped away, you can intentionally shift gears… back into the Gears of Joy. When I think of a car shifting gears it requires intentional movement to adapt to a particular road, speed, destination and goal. Gears of Joy teaches us how to shift from Gear 0 which is Survival Mode, to Gear 6 which is Generative Joy. The Gears in-between 0 and 6 are just as important to the journey as Gear 0 and 6 themselves. Let’s shift Gears, if you are starting from survival mode, then you are in Gear 0. Gear 0 is where you feel the most robotic, only being able to handle life reactively as things come up 1 by 1. Gear 0 feels like depletion, chaos, burnout, despair, anger, worthlessness, disconnected or even hopeless. You feel like you are fighting for your life in Gear 0, and there may be a time where you finally ask yourself, “what’s the point”. This is the stage where you reach out for support, so you can shift gears. Gear 1 is next, this is where Resilience comes in. In Gear 1 you are in recovery mode, your rhythm may start to return or at least glimpses of it. In Gear 1 you fall down and get back up again because you are willing to try, and because of these efforts you will likely shift into Gear 2. Gear 2 is Regulation, this is where you begin to notice, understand and practice managing your emotions, triggers and nervous system. Gear 2 is intentional and requires practice, along with self-awareness. Shifting to Gear 3, this is Reconnection, at this stage you begin to find meaning in personal interests again, goals, dreams, desires, you reconnect with your relationships (including the relationship you have with yourself). In gear 3 you begin to feel more connected to a sense of meaning, life and prayerfully so, faith. Now we are on a roll! Shifting Gears to Gear 4! Gear 4 is Antifragility (shout out to Nassim Taleb). Antifragility is lightyears away from fragile, far from survival mode and different than resilience. To be fragile is to break upon impact…to be antifragile is to strengthen upon impact. Taking a step up from resilience, where you fall and get back up again, you push through and you can return to your baseline…Antifragility, you call and spring back up with new information, you push through and come out evolved, you do not return to your baseline because your baseline has been elevated by strength, experience and wisdom, therefore you reach a new baseline. This is Gear 4. Now, Gear 5 things get sweet, in Gear 5 you are an embodiment of JOY. Gear 5 is essence, its alignment, its internal peace, its constant faith, learning and growth. You can feel Gear 5 in your body as if someone placed carbonated liquid gold in your blood streams and your heart is filled with clouds. Your mind is no longer scattered and bogged by unresolved trauma, worry feels counterproductive and solutions feel inviting, because after all at this point we see failure as learning experiences at this stage and when we learn we pivot and to pivot requires ideas and a plan. When solutions feel out of reach, we aim for the next best thing, letting go. This is a direct path toward Gear 6, Generative Joy. Gear 6 is the GLOW. Gear 6 is the BEACON. Gear 6 is the INSPIRATION. Gear 6 is the MODEL. Gear 6 is the RIPPLE. In Gear 6 you are overflowing, your essence is contagious, you have now become a model for others. Your ability to Shift Gears is making an impact, causing others to feel inspired to shift themselves. This is the uplift, the ripple, the collective impact of YOUR evolution. Welcome to the Gears of Joy.
When you can fully understand this model and apply the steps we teach here at When the Mind Clicks, you become more capable of retaining your joy. We may not always be in Gear 6 but with comprehension of how to Shift Gears we can always return to it.
