Penny Casselman:
Now you might be saying to yourself, Penny, I'm feeling stuck. I am in a season of stuckness right now. If that is you, I have a brand new freebie for you on my website. Go to penniecastleman.com. It's on the home page. It is a seven page PDF that you can, one, print out, or two, open up in a Google Doc. And in thirty minutes, I help guide you from being stuck to seeing opportunity and possibility and moving yourself forward. So if that sounds like something that can support you this coming week, please hop over there and get your copy.
Penny Casselman:
Welcome to the Pivot with Passion podcast. Hi. I'm Penny Casselman. I believe everyone is deserving of a phenomenal life. Regardless of where you came from, life is what you make of it. And when you learn to pivot with passion, your world explodes with opportunities. Go grab your favorite beverage, and let's shake things up as we explore how to pivot with passion. Hello, director.
Penny Casselman:
Welcome to the sixty second episode of Pivot with Passion. Last week, I was really in a funk and realized we need more fun, more joy, more optimism in our lives. And that is exactly what I wanna talk to you about today. Life was feeling really heavy for me last week. I will share with you are some of the undercurrents that got me thinking about getting more fun, more joy, more optimism into my life. First, work is never done. Work is like laundry. Whether you work for someone else or you work for yourself, there might be an end, a goal that you finish, but what's right behind it? One more thing to pick up and immediately begin when that thing is done.
Penny Casselman:
And then I reminded myself of these three quick facts. One, I firmly believe if you are here on earth with a consciousness, you are here for a reason. I don't believe that the universe, or God, or whatever it is that you subscribe to, does anything without a purpose. So yes, I believe that as I sit here today, I was put here for a reason, and maybe part of it is this podcast. The second thing I reminded myself was I'm breathing, I am alive. I am on the right side of the ground right now. Because if there's one thing that all of us will never escape, and that is death. Not trying to take this on a negative bent, but that is one truth that we all share, is that one day we will not breathe.
Penny Casselman:
But we are today, if you are listening to this podcast, believe and hold true that you are here for a purpose and you are still breathing. And the third thing that I told myself this past week was if I was put here for a reason and if I am still breathing, guess what? That means it's my responsibility to take action because joy provides momentum for me to continue moving forward with why I was put here and allows me to take action. And those are beautiful things. So director, I want us this coming week, this coming month, and hopefully, fingers crossed, keeping this in focus and carrying this with us through the balance of our year and, dare I say, the balance of our life. I don't want us focusing on negativity. That's too easy because all you have to do is read the newspaper, overhear people complaining about something, or even berating yourself because you're not further along. We are not here for easy. We are here for a challenge, and we are here to grow into our best selves.
Penny Casselman:
And I want us to start in that vein creating joy on demand. So stick around because I'm going to share three ideas that you might incorporate into your life on infusing joy on demand as you move forward through this wackadoodle thing called life that we are all experiencing. It's time for a clarity cocktail. Today's clarity cocktail comes from Tim Cook, and he shares, let your joy be in your journey, not in some distant goal. When I read his quote, this is exactly the impetus for this episode because it is exactly how I was feeling last week. It was my revelation. I needed to find the joy because it is all around. All we have to do is pause long enough to acknowledge it or carve out time to create it or infuse intention as we draft our own version of joy.
Penny Casselman:
So I mentioned last week was kind of heavy for me. And what I realized I was doing is saying to myself, which is not true in a story that I need to stop, is I will find joy when I accomplish this. I will be happy when this occurs. You see, I am just like you. I swear this podcast is as much for me to share my observations as it is to acknowledge that we are all in the same boat and we face the same challenges. So while I offer insights and perspectives and maybe a new way of thinking or something that will spark a new thought for you, know that they have come from experiences that I have endured in my life. So I'm going to share Tim Cook's quote with you again, because it's one worth writing down and posting somewhere for the next week, and maybe even the balance of the month for you to install it as a habit or a trigger for you to infuse the joy, and it goes like this. Let your joy be in your journey, not in some distant goal.
Penny Casselman:
And with that director, let the joy be in your journey because you deserve happiness every single day. And now back to the episode. Cheers. Circling back to this idea of finding joy, of honoring the joy that is around us, and how we might find a way to incorporate joy and fun into our life as a habit. Here are three ways that I have recently embraced in my own life that I hope will spark an idea for you to pick one of them up and use it as you move forward. So the first ways to start infusing more joy is where can you find the joy in your day? I am a planner person. Not only do I like my life planned, but I also like using a paper planner. And I look at each day the night before.
Penny Casselman:
So I'm challenging myself every day to look at what's on the docket for tomorrow and figure out where I could hold my focus and find the joy. Because too often, I think I go through the motions. I do one thing, check mark next, done. Go, go, go. Well, we all know to do lists are never done. There's always something to fill the gap. So if I can look at what's coming on my calendar for tomorrow, I can make a note or put a star or highlight something that I will be challenged with and reflect to myself, how can I find the joy? For instance, today, I took a Pilates class, and I had that highlighted in my planner because I knew that was dedicated time that I was going to be focusing on myself. And in doing that, how could I find joy in what I was doing? I was able to find joy in the movements through the Pilates class.
Penny Casselman:
I was able to find joy at the conclusion of the class because, whoop, I made it through an entire class. So where can you find the joy? Maybe you're gonna go to the grocery store. Maybe you can find joy in taking a very long slow walk down the cereal aisle and notice any new flavors or notice how ridiculous the boxes are and how colorful they are. Right? Find simple things in your day that you know are coming up where you can get focused and find the joy. K? Second thing is carve out time for joy and honor it. This was huge for me this past weekend. There were numerous family members who had come into town so that we could all go to a celebration. And because I like to plan things, when you're involving that many people, there's a lot of scheduling, it's a lot of things that could go sideways, get changed, you name it.
Penny Casselman:
And it wasn't until halfway through the day on Saturday that I finally let my shoulders drop, and I told myself, forget about everything else, enjoy the time with everyone. Have fun at the festival, soak it all in, Because as quickly as everyone came, that is how quickly they left just thirty six hours later. And what a relief it was for me to give myself permission to just freaking enjoy the time. Now maybe for you, this is a season where you're needing to hustle, but can you carve out two hours? One hour to focus on finding some joy. Because if you can commit to that, put it on your calendar and honor it. And the third thing is, how can you infuse fun on a consistent basis? I e, how can you install a habit where every time you're triggered by something you see or hear or experience, how can you use that to infuse fun and joy into your day? Now this idea was sparked from an Instagram post, and they went something like this. One woman commented every time she takes a walk through a park and she passes a group of pigeons, she pauses, turns to them and says, officers? And then continues on her way. Okay.
Penny Casselman:
I love that. It's hilarious. And, yeah, I'm gonna start doing it, but not with pigeons, because there really aren't that many ever in my neighborhood. But what there are ample numbers of are squirrels. So every time I see a squirrel, I don't care if the whole street thinks I'm crazy. I'm gonna pause, look at it, and say, officer, and then continue walking. That'll just it'll make me crack up. I don't know.
Penny Casselman:
Maybe you think I'm crazy. Another thing that was in this post is a woman commented that every time she was tasked with doing something new or scary, she would, that morning, put on a bracelet that her grandmother had gotten her years previous, look up and say, grandma, I need you with me today. Okay. How freaking heartwarming is that? I love that idea. In fact, I'm already thinking about a necklace that I have of my mom's. And the third idea from this Instagram post didn't actually come from the post, but actually came from a girlfriend who said before she goes into her basement, every time she will stand at the top of the stairs and say something to the effect of, hello, I'm coming down now, so if you are out in the room please scurry back to your home because I don't want to see you. I. E.
Penny Casselman:
She had had mice in her basement in the past, and did not like seeing them, brings her anxiety, and she may not have them at all. However, every time she stands at the top of the stairs, it's a way to infuse a little joy, a little fun into her day. And so how can you infuse some fun on a consistent basis? So I'll recap these again. One, where can you find the joy in your day? Look ahead to tomorrow. Figure out what activity must I do tomorrow that I can focus while I'm doing it and find some joy. The second thing, carve out some time and honor it. It doesn't mean that it has to be today or tomorrow, but look ahead at your calendar for the next week. Is there space on your calendar that's available where you can block out some time and just do something fun? And the third thing, how can you infuse fun on a consistent basis and create a habit? So here's an idea.
Penny Casselman:
Maybe when you go to the grocery store, you can name your cart. And every time you walk in, grab your cart, pull it out, and you can say, Sally, let's do this, and just start walking. I don't know. You are brilliant, director. You can come up with some way of making fun a habit. I hope you found a little joy in this episode this week, a little fun, a little pep in your step, because there is no shortage of negativity in our life. No shortage. So let's start bringing the joy and having some fun along the way.
Penny Casselman:
Now you might be saying to yourself, Penny, those three ideas sound great, but I cannot even wrap my brain around how I can get them done, how I might approach them. I'm feeling stuck. I am in a season of stuckness right now. If that is you, I have a brand new freebie for you on my website. Go to penniecastleman.com. It's on the home page. It is a seven page PDF that you can, one, print out, or two, open up in a Google Doc and type your responses. But in thirty minutes, I help guide you from being stuck to seeing opportunity and possibility and moving yourself forward and finding that joy.
Penny Casselman:
So if that sounds like something that can support you this coming week, please hop over there and get your copy. Director, please remember this. Every big bold vision starts with belief, grows with action, and thrives on vision. So grab your red marker, circle this moment, and declare it yours because your phenomenal life is waiting for you to arrive. And I'll be here cheering you on until next week. So get out there and go make it happen. Friend, thanks for listening to this episode of Pivot with Passion. If you've been feeling stuck, exhausted, or frustrated, this is your permission slip to go grab a red marker and claim the life you desire and deserve.
Penny Casselman:
If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend, and then hop over to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts. Because my goal is to put a red marker in everyone's hand, and I need your help to spread the word and make that happen. Until the next episode, go grab a red marker, get excited for your future, and make your first move to pivot with passion.
