Values = Joy
Happy New Year!
The time for transitions is here. The old of 2025 can be laid to rest. I have included a few reflection activities below to help you see “yesterday as a closing door” (Tell Your Heart to Beat Again by Danny Gokey). And to help you look ahead to all 2026 has in store.
One of my New Year’s traditions is to choose one word to focus on for the entire year. I learned about this practice from a dear friend who served as my mentor. My word for 2025 was focus. My word for 2026 is rewrite. I am looking forward to all the “rewriting” in 2026!
While the New Year can be flooded with self-improvement habits and hacks, I’d like to focus on values instead. In the book The Latte Factor by David Bach and John David Mann, there is a chapter that is focused on clarifying values. The Latte Factor is written as a parable centered on the story of Zoey, a twenty-something woman who is struggling to make ends meet. At her boss’s suggestion, she makes friends with Henry, the elderly barista at her favorite coffee shop.
After a series of conversations, there’s one question Henry asks Zoey that’s important.
The first thing Henry says is, “Now think back to a time in your life when you experienced flat-out, unbridled joy?” Zoey goes on to describe a family vacation to Maine when she was a kid. Henry asks, “When you’re there, on that little boat off the coast of Maine, how does it feel? What was it about that trip that you loved?” (140).
With these types of questions, Henry helps Zoey find the values that matter to her. Henry says, these (values) are the point. People talk about getting a bigger house, a better car, a vacation home, or just a better salary. But none of those things really matter. “It’s what those things bring you that matters” (142).
As a way to begin the New Year with joy, I’ve included a Winter Thrills list! Joy has the potential to reconnect you with yourself. Little moments of joy can make your day better!
Feel welcome to purchase the Creative Confidence Workbook Part 1 here: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/creative-confidence-workbook-part-1-shannon-kiley/1148849124?ean=9798260366325
