Would You Pull Your Own Tooth?
September 16, 2021
Would you pull your own tooth?
That’s the question a therapist asks in the book Evvie Drake Starts Over. She explains that with a pair of pliers and some perseverance, it’s physically possible to pull your own tooth.
First of all, ew.
Second, I find this painfully medieval analogy terribly effective.
Things are far less difficult and less painful when you get support.
The query immediately made me think about my Joy Infusions. (May sound weird. Stick with me here.)
My personality is naturally pretty optimistic and playful. These days, though, I can find it difficult to recognize and embrace the moments of joy.
Even for me, as someone who’s naturally pretty damn effervescent, it’s 1,000x easier to notice moments of joy when I know I’m going to share them with y’all.
I’m not proposing that finding joy as a solo practice is precisely like pulling your own tooth — though the world does have a general “going-to-the-dentist” vibe these days. My point is that, like a lot of things, it’s easier and more pleasant to seek out joy in community.
My last Joy Infusion of the year is next Wednesday. I’d love for you to join me.
Part of the reason it’s the last one is because I want to provide deeper support, to help y’all create a consistent practice of finding joy. These one-off events are an absolute blast, but candidly, they’re unlikely to help you create a sustained shift.
In my new 8-week program, Team Joy, we’ll develop our capacity to seek out moments of laughter, connection, and joy despite the chaos.
It’s based on feedback from friends and clients who crave:
Something joyful and delightful to look forward to each week
Strategies to find joy and to celebrate themselves
Easy, authentic human connection – with lots of laughter
In these increasingly hard times, we need loving accountability to find the joy.
When everything from climate change, to reproductive rights, to Delta, to just regular life stuff is all just too much, we need to invest in our self-care.
Let’s redefine self-care – what if laughing could “count” just as much as exercise or meditation.
For me, building this space can foster a sense of curiosity and purpose, like we’re playing a game to find delights to share with one another.
I’ll give an example.
When I hosted the last Joy Infusion, I’d just evacuated and was in the midst of the most stressful time in my life as a parent thus far.
Silver lining: we’d evacuated to Florida. As my toddler saw the beach for the first time, he threw his hands over his head and exclaimed, “My sandbox!”
When I think back to the evacuation, it’s one of my most vivid memories. But candidly, if I hadn’t shared it with y’all during the Joy Infusion to reinforce it, I’d likely have forgotten it. These moments are so fleeting when we’re not paying attention.
Because of the Joy Infusion, now, when I think back to a largely painful time, I also recall many joyful moments.
Planning to share the joy makes you more likely to notice and to remember. Bonus: we benefit from one another’s joy. I had one person tell me she loved Fe’s “my sandbox!” story so much that she’d repeated it 12 times.
Seeking out the joyful moments may sound like a small thing, and in some ways it is. It’s a subtle (and joyful) shift that can help minimize the malaise and boost your mood.
It can help you find meaning and connection in a deeply challenging time. It can be such fun. I think that’s a big damn deal. I’d love to have you on the team.
(Worried it’s too much of a commitment? Read the FAQ.)
PS Hope you’re doing at least marginally better than these candles I just discovered post pandemicane.
