The Planned Joy Calendar

Let me tell you something I figured out the hard way.

I don't plan joy because I want to have fun. (Although, I absolutely do!!!) I plan joy because of what happens to me when I actually go do the things.

When I'm on a rollercoaster screaming my face off, guess what? I'm not a cancer patient.

When I'm walking a beach at sunrise breathing in the awe of the magnificence that is right before me or when I'm kayaking next to a glacier and my eyes see for themselves that the world is that beautiful...

I am not a cancer patient.

I am a person full of love and adventure and inspiration with a cup so full it spills over into everything else.

When I leave the house and do the things I have scheduled in, I am a completely different person.

I know, finding joy is not a new concept. A lot of people say, "Find joy daily."

But I think it's more important than that. We have to create it. And plan it. And stick it in the calendar as an appointment SO important that we don't miss it. Make it as important a parent-teacher conference, doctor's appointment, or a mandatory meeting at work that could have been an email - because it is!

And it doesn't have to be big. It doesn't have to be expensive. It doesn't have to involve a glacier (although, tbh 10/10 recommend).

It just has to be planned. Because if it's not on the calendar, it's just a wish. And our cups remain empty because we gave everything we had to something or someone else.

I know this because I did it for too long and I don't anymore. I make room for myself.

So I made you a calendar because I want you to make room for yourself, too!

An undated, use-it-any-month, fill-it-in-yourself, no-excuses calendar. With a Suggestion Box full of ideas in case your brain goes blank. And it's yours for free because I genuinely believe this is that important.

So what do you say? Are you ready to start planning your joy?

Go ahead. Make plans. Small ones, big ones, ridiculous ones.

The size doesn't matter. The planning does.

- Christie O  |  IAmChristieO.com  |  #DoFunThings