Life is tough. It’s an endless battle of curve balls, highs, lows, experiences, and so much more. There’s so many expectations that we put on ourselves to be the best version of ourselves in the eyes of others. We struggle with stress and the inability to get out of our own heads. Are we good enough? Do we provide enough? Can we ever find some JOY when the world seems to be building up around us. Thats mental. It’s a trait that I hate to admit I “suffer” from. It’s personal and yet external at the same time. Finding the JOY in simple tasks might seem unachievable. So where is your JOY?
When times are tough we look for something to fill the gap, to bring some laughter and life lessons we can say we gave it our all. Recently, I became the coach of my son’s baseball team. I found a purpose that can be so impactful to the young minds that will shape our future. I find JOY even though it adds another item to my already stressful plate. Understanding that others depend on you is a path to self reflection and understanding that YOU are worth it. You can impact others. Others appreciate you. The smiles and thank you’s mean so much. Baseball was such a monumental piece of my life growing up. My dad and mom made sure I was able to be in team sports, they put their time on hold for me. As a result, I got to play in Cooperstown. I still have the ball from the game (homerun and grandslam) that helped us make it to the big show. I’ll never forget that day. I was 13. So, as I navigate each week I have the mindset that I can make dreams come true, establish kindness and collaboration, we can all experience that JOY.
I stress 3 rules that, after a couple of weeks, are impacting my son’s life:
- Be kind
- Be safe
- We are a TEAM, we WIN together
Those three rules are what I instill every time we meet. Every practice that can be stressful to ensure it’s fulfilling, teaching the right things, how can this bring JOY, what do we all get out of a simple hour. Thats a win in my book. I see happiness, the new experiences, bringing community together for others. Stress comes in many forms and can consume/overwhelm/persist how we think about ourselves, but there is JOY in leaving our personal mental issues aside and provide life lessons to those that depend on us.
Understanding that stress can be overcome to provide JOY for others AND yourself is key to battling the inner voice telling you that you are not doing enough. It’s your super power that can be shared, it’s not yours alone. Bring joy to others and you’ll find that JOY will come back to you. Be a team player for your mind, be safe when you think of others, you can win too!
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