8/12/2019 Unlock The Secrets to a Joyful Life - by Author & Life Coach Malti Bhojwani

1/2

What does joy mean toyou? Perhaps the mostimportant step to living

joyfully is to reconnectwith your inner childwho knows what joy

feels like but is, toooften, distracted by thepressures of everydaylife. According tointernational Life CoachMalti Bhojwani, making

time for joy in your lifeby practicing daily goodhabits is key. She sharesher powerful tips forgetting rid of stress andunhappiness and living a

fulfilled and joyful life.

2.Every Little Bit Helps:Install Empowering Habits

1.Get Inspired:Connect With Your Spirit

Joy is our birthright and our truest naturalway of being. Unfortunately, many of

us have forgotten this, or allowed ourconditioning and responsibilities to make

us think otherwise. Some of us even feelguilty when were joyful, worrying that weshould be doing something else instead ofsimply relishing the moment.

The truth is, theres a fine line

between spontaneously living in thenow and scheduling a daily routine tohelp you live joyfully. As with mostthings, balance is key. Unfortunately,for too many reasons, many of us have

LIFEformed a habit of not being joyful. Asa professional coach, Ive learnt that

instilling empowering habits is a powerfulway of breaking bad habits and living the

life we desire.Habits take time to instil, however,

and until the time that they becomeintrinsic and a new way of being becomesnatural, a little bit of scheduling and

adhering is necessary. In this piece, Ishare my empowering habits and uniqueHabit-Forming Checklist to help you kick-start your summer with deliberate joyousliving.

A JOYFUL

TO

Joyful Tip#1:Ourbodiesaffectouremotions,which

inturnaffectourlanguage.Today,languageisaction.

Mostoftheresultswecreateinourlivesareadirect

responsetothelanguageorconversationswehave

withourselves(ourthoughts)andwithothers. Instilling

ahabitofgoingtothiscenteredspaceseveraltimesa

daywill helpyougaininstant accesstoyourtruebeing,

whosenatureisjoy. Ittakespractice,butthemoreyou

doit,themoreautomaticitwill become.

Taking the time every day to connect inward,instead of always looking outward forsatisfaction, is vital. We need this more than our

bodies need food or water. If you start to realisethis inner thirst and set aside regular time toquench it, you will become inspired.

The word inspired comes from In-spirit.This state will guide you to take inspired actions

that are in line with the energy and fl ow of

the Universe and not against it. It is tiring andunnatural to constantly go against the flow; wehave been conditioned to think that life shouldbe hard or that success only comes to those who

fight, when in fact it is the contrary.

Simply speaking: Take a few minutes every day to practicecentering in your body, emotions and language.

I like to call this plugging in, where you allowyourself to sit in silence and observe your breath. Accept your feelings and emotions, whateverthey may be, with a soothing and caring voicethat says, It is OK to feel this way. Imagine

what silence would sound like. Straighten your body, connect with gravityunder the soles of your feet and imagine thatyour head is tall and reaching for the skies.Simultaneously straighten your back and tuck

your tummy in. Remember that slouching your shoulders orscrunching your forehead is a sign of negativity,worry and stress and is the opposite of joy. Thebody is your quickest access point to helping you

change the way you feel. Notice your p osturenow as you read this article and change itimmediately. If you force yourself to smile for a few minutes,you wont be able to resist the natural joy that

fills your spirit.

Joyful Tip #2:Imagine that life is a

joyride with a slide, just likethe ones you see in a playground,and that its your birthright to slide

happily down it every day. Live your lifeas if the only true responsibility you haveis to experience this joy. Joy doesnt justcome from achieving success, but rather

from your attitude. The kid climbing up theslide is feeling that joy already; he isntpostponing his happiness until he slidesdown. Its the same with us - feel thehappiness and excitement in all thatyou do, rather than waiting for

events or people to make youhappy.

What we do everyday adds up to the SUM TOTAL of theresults we have in our lives, so stop making excusesand looking for magical quick fixes that will bring youthe finances, body, health and relationships you desire.

Instead, start taking responsibility for your life, b ecauseyou will only see results when you s tart to work daily.

Results can take time. I wanted to shed a fewkilograms recently and it took me 21 days of committed,uninterrupted exercise and discipline to lose just 1

kilogram. It can be very discouraging to keep doingsomething when we dont see or feel any results, which isone of the reasons I designed this table.

Being able to see the green tick marks as they fill upthe page after a week has helped me to feel reassured

and to stay committed to the actionbefore any results have appearedin my physical reality. Just as youknow beyond the shadow of a doubtthat consistent deposits or charges

will affect the balance in your bankstatements, so too will daily actionhave an exponential effect on theresults you want to create in your life.

What does all this have to do withjoy? you may ask. It all sounds liketedious hard work if you ask me?Well, when you live each day doing

the activities that fill up your time withwhat you know will give you joy, andyou see the pathway as enjoyable,then you are living joyfully. It isnt justabout the destination.

Unlock The Secrets

FIBERS| Apr./May | 2014

106 Inspiration Island_mind & soul

8/12/2019 Unlock The Secrets to a Joyful Life - by Author & Life Coach Malti Bhojwani

2/2

4.Be Aware:Use The HabitForming Checklist

On the left, list the activities thatyou know will help you feel joyful

and purposeful every day and,

JoyfulTip#3:Makeitadailypracticeto

indulgeinactivitiesthatyouknowgiveyou

pleasure.Inmybook,DontThinkofaBlue

Ball,thereisanexercisetohelpyoucreatea

pleasurelist.Whatyouenjoy,youmustdo.

Joyful Tip #4:Givingour time and resources

makes us happy. Researchindicates that we experience

the same emotions when we giveas when we receive - it opens

the same valve causing a similaremotion. So in order to experiencethe joy of receiving, give more.

Connecting with loved ones dailyis nourishment for your soul

and is therefore essential tofeeling joy.

3.Avoid Negativity:Make Pleasure Your PriorityUse worry or stress as triggers to sit and visualise the opposite of what you are worriedabout. Lets assume that when you are concerned about something, you are anticipating

an undesirable outcome. Use this initial worrying thought as a trigger to sit down for fivefull minutes and fantasize about living your desired life.

Allow yourself to enjoy the visuals just as you would if you were watching a movie,and feel this in your body and heart. Force a smile onto your face and feel the rush of

true joy that flows in your body when you do this.If you really must, you can always go back to worrying afterwards, but if you practice

this often, you wont need to. And guess what, even if the chances of it going eitherway are 50 percent, worrying will not help it turn out any better. In fact, the negativeexpectations and mood you create by worrying will only increase the chances that it may

turn out badly.

through continuous practice,will take you closer to whereyou want to be in your life. In

the sample, Ive included someexamples, but feel free to editand customize it to your owngoals and desires.Being grateful and appreciating

what you already have, and thenacknowledging this gratitude, is aproven way to invoke feelings of

joy and attract more and morestuff to be grateful for. You

will be looking through thelens of gratitude and learningto see the silver lining in everysituation, instead of complaining.

My iHour is what I include

in the first hour of my day andwhat I consider most importantto my emotional and physical

wellbeing. Use it on yourcomputer, in excel format, orprint it out every month anduse a red and green pencil totick or cross the cells each day.For activities that you want to

do only a few times a week, donot cross the days on which youdont do them, simply leave themblank. After a week, notice thepattern that you have created and

re-assess your list.

Withoutleapsof

imagination, or

dreaming,welose

theexcitementof

possibilities.Dreaming,

afterall,isaformof

planning.

GloriaSteinem

!Exfoliating with coffeegrinds sloughs offdead skin cells, gives

a healthy glow, andreduces the appearanceof pores. Mix 1/2 ateaspoon of coffee grindsand a 1/4 teaspoon of

facial cleanser. Rub ontoface (avoid eye area)and gently rub in circlesbefore rinsing with warmwater.

Tips

FIBERS| Apr./May | 2014

108 Inspiration Island_mind & soul