Finding joy is the overarching theme at my daughter’s school.

It is perfect as children are good at finding joy in the simplest of things. It is also a reminder to find joy throughout the day. Yet, in the busyness of our professional lives, practicing gratitude often takes a backseat. As enter the Thanksgiving season, what if we took the time to find joy in the most miniscule of things each day?

Practicing gratefulness is particularly important for business leaders in challenging times.  Research shows that an attitude of gratitude can mean fewer sick days and higher job satisfaction rates. It is easy to appreciate that both of those things help the bottom line.

Start by finding the positives.

Was that presentation you’ve worked on for a month canceled at the last minute? Great! Now you have time to connect with a coworker or to make the call you have been putting off.  Was a meeting called unexpectedly?  No problem.  Now you can grab that extra cup of coffee while you listen to a presentation.  

Uplift yourself. Each day give thanks for one very small thing or accomplishment. Start daily and increase from there, consistently giving thanks for things that may seem miniscule.

Show simple appreciation.  We all like to know our time is valued. Give thanks to your team for simple things. This can include changing the copy paper or hopping on a call at the last-minute.  Pay attention.  Check in with your team often to let them know you care. Celebrate any and all successes, no matter how small. If they are out of sorts one day, drop them a quick note to let them know you appreciate their work.  Circle back often.

Soon, you’ll notice the culture of your business is more positive.

Why wait for Thanksgiving? What is one small thing you can find joy in today? 

Happy New Year, friends! Yes, it’s officially THAT time of year … the holidays are over, the kids are back to school, and we take a look around at the carnage and decide that things have to change. And THIS is the year we are going to resolve to make those changes.

So we make some resolutions. We’re going to lose weight! Get in fabulous shape! Get fabulously organized! Become the best mother/wife/friend/person EVER! We google “how to make changes.” We examine our motivations, set realistic goals, plan our rewards, and set out on our course to become a newer, better, version of ourselves.

Blah, blah, blah.

Um, no offense to anyone who truly commits to change in the new year and follows through with it (there may be one or two of you out there), but let’s face it, most of us get busy and forget our New Year’s Resolutions five minutes after we make them.

Listen, I’m all for self-improvement. But I wholly believe that the greatest improvement any of us can make to our lives, and the lives of everyone around us, is to resolve to do something simple … BE HAPPY. Find your happiness. Create happy moments. Do happy things. Big things. Little things. Anything that lightens your load and makes you smile.

How about these things?

Take a spur of the moment trip

Have dinner with someone who makes you laugh

Write someone you love a letter

Eat something you’ve never tried

Take a long walk

Find a place to dance

Stop doing something you do only out of obligation

Binge watch a new show

Treat yourself to something big

Spend a day volunteering

Call an old friend

Read the paper on Sunday

Tell your kids a story about your younger self

Cook a special meal for no reason

Forgive someone

Forgive yourself

Life is short, friends, and we only have this one. Our time here is precious. Enjoy it. Smile broadly. Breathe deeply. Laugh loudly. Love the people that love you (and forget the ones that don’t). Be happy.

Now those are resolutions.

Throughout high school I was told to focus on my weaknesses in order to be a well-rounded student for college applications. While I have always loved history and English, math and science were never my strong points and were subjects I strived to have a purely basic understanding of. Instead of being encouraged by my high school counselor to explore my interests in history and writing by enrolling in challenging courses, it was suggested that I take science courses instead to “round out” my application.

While my counselors stressed the importance of having an overall knowledge of basic core subjects, colleges wanted to know what made me unique and what I was passionate about in school. This contradiction is a common not just for students, but also for many business professionals in today’s world.

My college professors have given me a different perspective in this matter, and have showed me the importance of utilizing strengths and coping with weaknesses. As an assignment for my business leadership course I read the book Strengths Finder 2.0, and took a “strengths” test that followed at the end of the book. This personality test reveals your top five strengths and suggests jobs that correlate with those strengths. There are many different ways to find your strengths, but the Strengths Finder 2.0 test revealed key insights to me that I had yet to think of.

When are people happiest in their jobs?

Instead of encouraging you to “correct” your weaknesses to be an attractive candidate in a job application, author Tom Rath promotes the idea of harnessing one’s strengths to be as productive and happy as possible. The book asks if, “you have the opportunity to do what you do best everyday?” Statistically speaking, people are happiest when their jobs showcase their strengths, and allows them to make a difference and be productive at work. If everyone was a well-rounded employee, their strengths would not be utilized and thus productivity and efficiency would decrease.

When you examine the most successful people in the world, you notice one thing they all have in common – they know what they do best and they DO IT.

I am at my happiest in the summertime. The days are long, the schedule is loose, the feeling is decidedly relaxed. I can always talk someone into a fun night of chips and salsa on a patio over a margarita. But my body had been feeling the effects of too many jaunts on the patio, a beach trip was around the corner, and a big tennis tournament was in my future.

It was time to clean up. Cleanse.

Enter The Gem. They are our client and friends, and I believe wholeheartedly in their mission; but more than all of that, I’d done their 3-day cleanse before and felt great, so I decided to do it again. I enlisted the partner-in-crime-mentality of my friend Wendy, who had just returned from vacation and was feeling as sluggish as I was. And off we were.

Day One

I wake up, and instead of grabbing my usual Diet Coke, drink … water. Lots and lots and lots of water. And then some more water. I head to the Gem to pick up my first day’s 6 pack. I open the door, and smell the juice. It is fragrant and fresh, and I am officially excited.

Grab my cleanse and chat with Mary Kathryn, who looks ridiculously lovely and is happy and friendly. Side note: is she ever NOT lovely, happy and friendly???

Drink my first Green Glow. Yum. How can a green beverage be so delicious? Second Green Glow on my way to tennis. I’m so healthy! Yay me!

First stumbling block: standing post-drill lunch with my tennis team. They are all ordering our usual tostadas, and my third juice, the Ruby Slipper, is at home in my fridge. Tactical error. Thank heavens Wendy is doing this with me – we order water. With lemon. Mmmm, lemon. We pretend it’s delicious and filling and escape without incident. I run home and drink my juice.

It’s afternoon and time for the Clarity Lemonade. Wowza! Spicier than I remember. I feel like I’m sweating on the inside. I can feel my metabolism revving up. More water.

Maybe it’s the heat of my son’s swim meet, maybe it’s the lack of caffeine, maybe it’s the lack of food, but I have a killer headache. I know I’m supposed to drink some more water but I just can’t. I do remember this first evening being the hardest, so I go home and drink my last Green Glow, and I feel slightly better.

Dinner time and I’m hungry. Thankfully my husband has agreed to handle food for the kids, so I lock myself in my bedroom with my Cashew Milk, which is actually very delicious. But I want whatever my kids are eating, which smells divine. Feeling weak, I text Wendy for reinforcement. “Don’t do it! Go to bed,” she says. Good advice.

Day Two

I wake up and I feel clear-headed and fantastic. The headache is totally gone, and the scale tells me I’m down three pounds. Excellent! Although weight loss isn’t my primary goal, it’s always nice to drop a few. My resolve is newly restored, and I’m off and running.

I drink my water (the hardest part for me, although I don’t exactly know why) and set out for The Gem. The impossibly chic and funny Leslie Needleman is there to give me my juice this morning. I’m dressed in tennis garb, and she eyes me suspiciously, “Are you playing tennis Jacqui?” I know I’m supposed to be kind to my body and take a break from strenuous activity while on this cleanse, so I blather on about something irrelevant and run out of the store.

Hmmm, should I not be playing tennis? I have a tournament to prepare for and so I push this thought aside and down my Green Glow on the way to my club. I don’t know if it’s the juice, my attitude, or the aligning of the stars, but I play great. “I feel like Wonder Woman!” I tell my tennis pro. I’ve officially crossed over into obnoxious-ville but I don’t even care. I smugly drink another juice.

Somehow my afternoon juices become mixed up, leaving me drinking my clarity lemonade at 6 PM, when I’m playing tennis for the second time today. Um … not my smartest move. I am hot and palpitating and feeling very much like I might throw up. No bueno. Now I know why I got the Needleman side eye.

I go home, drink my Cashew Milk, take a long hot shower and fall into bed.

Day Three

Morning is my favorite time on this cleanse. I wake up incredibly bright-eyed, my skin looks great, and I feel like I can do anything. The scale tells me I’m down another three pounds, which makes me want to walk around unclothed on all day because honestly I haven’t looked this good in ages.

At this point, I know the drill and everything feels easy. Water, juice, water, juice, water, juice. I don’t even miss the food and I am becoming nervous about having to reintroduce it tomorrow and undo all the good things I have done.

It’s evening and I meet an old friend for dinner at Shinsei, which is my favorite restaurant. I am in the home stretch so I have a piece or two of sashimi and drink lots of cucumber water. The food feels good in my stomach and I decide that I will be happy to eat again tomorrow.

Day Four

Ah, lovely morning. I’m down another pound (Just a pound? Was it the sashimi?). I’m craving some juice, so I head to The Gem. Although I’m done with the cleanse, I am going to continue to incorporate these juices into my daily routine. I feel too good not to.

I’ve gotten used to feeling like Wonder Woman.

When was the last time you looked up at the sky and really enjoyed the sunshine, being in the moment.

Felt the breeze on your face. Found shapes in the clouds.

If you stopped right now, went outside and looked up, how would you feel? What would you be thinking? Are you happy? Content?

Perhaps, like many of us, things are basically good, but you’re in a bit of a life rut. Same routine over and over, and you suddenly realize how quickly the years are slipping by. Or maybe things simply aren’t going the way you want. There’s a little too much rain on your parade, and it’s gotten you down.

We all feel this way at some time or another. In today’s busy society, no one is immune from getting swept up in the stampede of life. Or being occasionally trampled by it. So how do you break free?

One way, again, is to simply look up. It’s sunshine, folks!

Let me explain. The other day, I heard a client talking about an employee who wasn’t performing at her best. He noted, “All she needs is a little water and sunshine, and she’ll be great.”

That was an amazing observation, and it really struck home with me. Of course, he was talking about nourishment. Nourishment of a person based on who she is. The things that feed her soul. Things to help her grow and thrive and blossom!

Ok, I’m overdoing it a bit, but you get the idea.

Friends, what is your sunshine? What are the nutrients that will nourish the essence of who you are? What do you need in your core being to shine more brightly?

It’s easy to ask these questions but not always easy to answer. Try to discover the tiny inkling within that excites you. Something you love and are passionate about, deep down. Maybe it’s a hobby, like painting or gardening. Perhaps it’s philanthropic, like rescuing dogs or mission work. It could be a special career skill that you didn’t pursue in college. Something on your bucket list? Take a moment and really listen to your gut. What are you hungry for?

When you find it, FEED IT! Embrace it! Nurture it! And give it plenty of sunshine!

Before you know it, you’ll be following your own heart on your own journey instead of being fenced in, grazing with the herd. It may be new and different, and it may require taking a risk. But you are only you once.

Dare to be great!