Over the past two years I have spoken a lot about my core values. I have five of them:
Seek new knowledge everyday
Maintain and grow positive relationships
Create
Share my gifts with those who need them
Take care of my physical, mental and spiritual health
These five things have been the goalposts of my life. They guide everything I do. However, in doing some more self reflection, I realized there was something that I value that was missing from this list. Something that is so intrinsically Kayla, that I don't know how it didn't occur to me when I was compiling it.
JOY.
How often do I speak about finding joy in the little things and actively searching for things that bring joy into your life? How often do I spend thinking about the things in my life that radiate joy and acknowledging their profound impact on who I am and how I walk through the world? Joy is a constant focus of mine, and I'm not sure how I never recognized that it should be included in the list of my values.
Maybe it's because of toxic positivity culture. Maybe I thought that if I acknowledged that I value joy on the same level as knowledge and creativity and health, I'd be considered less credible or serious. Maybe in a world with so much hard stuff happening I thought it may be considered in poor taste, afterall, I did start talking a lot about values during the first Covid-19 lockdown. Maybe a lot of things.
But why should anything or anyone inhibit me from acknowledging MY core values?
Everyone's life is different, and in a world where many are just trying to survive (me included!), we all have to prioritize different things to get through the day's struggles. That is the beauty of our world, everyone is unique. Everyone has different needs, desires, and values. And no one person's values are more "valuable" than another's, they are just different.
So, I'm adding a sixth value:
6. Acknowledge and seek out the things that bring me joy.
And I'm going to start right now with one of my FAVORITE activities, which we've talked about before - a joy list! Here are some things lately that have been bringing joy into my life!
- Paint and Sips! If you follow me on Instagram or TikTok you may have noticed that my mom, sister and I have been going to Pinot's Palette a lot... and I mean a lot a lot. We no longer have any wall space at our house it feels like, but we keep on painting! Now none of us are skilled painters per se, but we sure love to try! I've taken to calling our nights at Pinot's my "art therapy" after the stresses of work, SBK and my volunteer positions, and I personally think it's the best kind! The photo on this post is our most recent, and probably my second favorite painting I've ever done! (The first being this mermaid that I painted with some of my TIU Tacoma girlfriends!)
- Travel. I know I know, y'all know. But honestly it is probably the thing that brings me the most joy right now in life. I love getting out of my bubble and trying and seeing new things. I don't know when my next trip will be, but I already know it will make me SO happy!
- Reading Marathons! I love when I have a day that I can just sit around and read as much as possible. I'm really lucky to be a fast reader and so some days I can finish 3-4 books in a sitting and those days are the absolute best. But just any time to read really does bring joy into my day. I've been trying to use any extra time I have in the mornings before work to read and it has definitely made me show up to work happier (or more stressed depending on where I leave off...)!
- Downtime. I know, seems like a weird things for an extrovert to say, but having downtime where I can just be alone is bliss right now. Maybe that's why I love traveling by myself so much?
- Mexican Take-out. I mean... do I even have to explain this simple joy?
So there you have it, a few things that bring me endless joy right now and remind me of why it is a part of my core values. I hope that you had some joy in your life today and that if you take away anything from this, that you remember that your values are your own, and no one can tell you if they are worthy or not!
xo,
Kayla
Comments