HELLO, MY FRIEND! YOU WERE WORTH IT!
I could hardly contain my excitement.
The sun was coming up and I got to watch the stars fade. The colors of the horizon changed before my eyes.
Nobody was out.
It was early January and with the wind chill, the temperature was a crisp ZERO.
Something about the temp being neither a positive nor a negative number made me feel like I got to define it.
So I defined zero as beautiful. Refreshing. Exhilarating. Perfect.
I was bundled up to high heaven with only a few centimeters of my skin exposed.
I was on my mountain bike, pedaling away, excited to see a friend at daybreak.
And I was thinking about why you need to just do the thing.
I planned to ride 60 minutes max. But it brought me so much joy to be:
- Moving my body,
- Able to do a hard thing,
- Enjoying something others consider “not normal,” and
- Absorbing all of the Christian rap playing in my earbuds… I had to keep going.
QUIT MAKING EXCUSES AND JUST DO THE THING
I didn’t care that my water bottle froze.
Or that the sharp wind in my eyes made tears that froze my eyelashes together whenever I tried to blink.
Or that normal people were still sleeping.
I wanted to see my long-lost biking companion. I hadn’t seen her in a year at the very least.
Here’s the thing: I hadn’t ridden this far since before my ski accident. This ride meant I was done living with the bubble wrap on.
Attempting to get a full breath in the cold, wipe my runny nose before it made icicles, and push my sleepy quads to the limit, I rode up hills. Down hills. Past a lake. By farms.
And that’s when I saw her.
She was standing outside, all alone.
I was so happy to see her again, I wanted to hug her!
I hollered out with all the joy in my heart, “HELLO, MY FRIEND! YOU WERE WORTH IT!”
She was a brown cow… wondering who I was and why I was yelling at her.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Why am I telling you this?
Because I hoped it would spark an idea. An idea that would bring you joy.
As you read this, you thought of something that brings joy to you. Something that does THIS to your heart.
Something you haven’t made space for in a while.
Why is that?
I wanted to drop by today just to encourage you to make space.
Why?
The after-effects of seeing my biking buddy fueled me for the rest of the day. I felt like I could fly.
Not only was she worth it… I realized I am worth it.
And you are worth it, too!
Fun fact: Joy is not a one-and-done thing. A previous ride a few days earlier in -1 degree windchills had a similar effect. It powered me up to write an entire chapter of my upcoming book about choosing joy in lousy circumstances. It was like a one-hour investment with a 23-hour payoff.
I’m telling you, my friend, joy works.
Let’s let joy work for YOU.
It feels good to feel good. #feelgood.
JUST DO THE THING.
Until next time…
PS: Not sure what your thing is? Need an accountability buddy? Schedule a free Breakthrough Call with me for a no-pressure, fun chat. You’ll see if working 1:1 together is the missing piece in your search for joy. Just click here. ❤️
You “Rock!” 😎🤘🤘❤️
Thank you!
There are days that choosing Joy is not so easy.
But making the conscious decision to do so makes All the difference! When you Do The Thing!
It’s very satisfying to have made the effort because it equaled a good result.
Not just for yourself, most likely others as well.
So,
That one choice has possibly created a snowball effect? I’m willing to bet that was not even thought of in that moment of making the decision to choose Joy.
With the world as it is today….It’s a choice to be the norm or the exception!
As hard as it may be.. Choose the later!
Roger, your comment was so thought-provoking! Thank you for taking the time to post it. And you are spot on… making the decision to choose joy is not only necessary for us as individuals, but because of joy’s contagious nature… for society as a whole. Just do the thing!
Thank You, Robin.
I needed this message today.
Stay safe my friend
HAPPY NEW YEAR’S!!
Happy New Year to YOU, my friend!
I am so glad that the story resonated.
I’d love to hear what your “thing” is! ❤️