What purpose would Joy serve within a business?

All values, personal and business have a place. For me, Joy is an essential part of life. It nourishes, replenishes, invigorates and inspires.

My definition of Joy is living with passion, enthusiasm, humour and a feeling of abundance and gratitude: essentials for running your own business, especially if you’re providing a service to customers and clients

The American Psychological Association (APA) defines joy as “a feeling of extreme gladness, delight, or exaltation of the spirit arising from a sense of well-being or satisfaction.” It activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes feelings of peace and calm – slowing heart rate and breathing, even helping digestion, while also improving well being, confidence and self-esteem.

On a meta level, sharing values, according to a New Zealand based study, boosts joy. This sense that there is commonality in values creates a feeling of belonging that helps people feel connected, improves hopefulness, optimism and can help galvanise for a ‘common good’

I don’t subscribe to joy being a deified feeling, or associated with religion. I have neither faith nor a deity complex, but I do find the feelings of joy that I can experience readily, is a very grounding human thing (although, obviously shared with our dogs, labradors especially). It makes me feel grateful for the choices I have been able to make to get me to this point. My clients and my business are an integral part of this

Joy is part of my self care: it is a mindset, a choice, a practice and a daily reminder to be grateful. Self care is an essential part of being in business. I have a responsibility to my team, to my clients and suppliers to stay liquid, well and firmly in business.

There is very little we control in life, so I choose to control my active experience of joy, every day.