On today’s episode, we’re talking about 5 unconventional ways you can infuse a little more joy into your day.

Fed and Fit podcast graphic, episode 131 5 ways to infuse a little more joy into your day with Cassy Joy

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Episode 131 Transcription

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Cassy Joy: Welcome back to another episode of the Fed and Fit podcast. I am your host, Cassy Joy Garcia. And I am excited for a; you know what, we’re getting back to our roots today. That’s what today’s episode is about. Today is a long overdue mindset focused episode. It’s going to be short and sweet, so just settle in. We have just a couple of tips.

So we’re going to talk today about 5 ways to infuse a little more joy into your day. Ok? These are probably unconventional tips {laughs} that’s really what I wanted to bring you. I didn’t want to bring you something that was obvious. And in fact, my first draft of this list, when I went back and reread it, getting ready to record for today. I thought; nope! That is too obvious! I want to give people something a little more unconventional. A little more practical.

If you’re listening to this, and you’re thinking; I just want to find a way to harness a little more joy. Maybe stay on the upper cut of just having a good day. Right? At the end of the day, we all know here that that’s our choice. How we feel about the day. And at the end of the day, how we respond to things that happen to us. In a lot of ways, we do have a lot of control. That doesn’t mean that our natural emotions don’t have a place. They absolutely have a place, and it’s important to acknowledge those. But there are things that we can do.

If you find yourself just kind of in a rut, right? Maybe you’re uninspired or you’re just finding it really easy to be offended by certain things or people in your life. Goodness; things are just getting to you more than you really feel like they would in certain circumstances. Maybe we’re just due to shake things up, right? So that’s what today’s episode is all about, is to really help you shake things up a little bit. Maybe dust out some corners that we hadn’t thought about in a while. And hopefully what ends up is a little more joy in the day. A little more freshness, you know.

An obvious thing that I’m not going to share would be like go out and buy yourself a new pair of stretchy pants; workout pants. I’m not going to give you that kind of advice today. But you know that feeling when you come home with a new pair of tennis shoes or running shoes or something that just signifies that you’re going to do something to take care of yourself. You’ve got these shiny new sneakers, and what it means to you. It’s not that you have a new pair of sneakers; but it represents time out on maybe a job with yourself and your thoughts. And that brings you some joy. Right?

So there are things that we can do to infuse a little newness into our lives that are a little more unconventional that hopefully help. I hope that was a good introduction. {laughs}

Ok, so my number one tip of five ways to infuse a little more joy into the day; number one, to change your form of entertainment. Switch it up, alright? Let’s say for example if you are a podcast junky. You’re listening to a podcast right now. You’re listening to a podcaster who is also a podcast junkie, so I get it. I have a number of podcasts on my phone. But what I’ve found is that I was listening to a lot of the same podcasts over and over again, and I was ready for a change. I was ready for something different. And for me, something different was an audio book.

I was like; you know what, forget these podcasts. Because I just can’t handle this up and down, these 30-minute episodes over and over again. Or 45 minutes, or an hour and a half. Whatever it is. So I went and I downloaded 4 or 5 books. Actually I downloaded way more than that. But I write reading lists for you on the blog of which you can find my fall reading list on the blog right now. I included; how many books are on there? At least 9 books, maybe 12. I think there’s 12 books.

Anyway some recommendations for reading whether you like fiction, nonfiction, really covered it all. More inspirational, business, mindset stuff is on there. Anyway, scientific breakthroughs. Everything is represented. But I was ready to switch up my podcast entertainment gain with some audiobooks. Right? It’s still on the same device. I’m still using the same headphones. But I wanted something a little bit different. So that’s one way I was able to do that.

And something miraculous happened when I changed up; when I opened up my phone. Because I like to listen to podcasts when I go grocery shopping, when I’m doing my cooking in the kitchen, when I’m cleaning the house. When I’m on a drive. Sometimes when I’m out walking Gus. I like to have something that I’m either bettering myself working through something; I’m a maximizer is my number one strength, if you’ve ever taken StrengthsFinder. That is my number one by a landslide. And I’ve taken StrengthsFinder, oh gosh, I probably have taken that test 7 times over the last; ohh, when did I got to college? {laughs}

I graduated from high school in 2004, and that is when I took it for the first time. I’ve taken it a lot over 13-plus years. And every single time, although the strengths have changed and evolved; they give you your top 5 strengths. Although strengths have changed and evolved. Numbers two through five have changed. My number one has consistently been Maximizer. It’s just who I am, I can’t shake it. So I’m always going to find a way to squeeze in; make the most out of a situation, and listening to podcasts. I have a feeling some of you are nodding along, you identify with this. Listening to podcasts and making the most of my grocery shopping or a drive. Whether it’s calling someone up or listening to a show or listening to an audio book is something that I love to do and making the most of something.

And sometimes I just want to be alone with my thoughts. But for the most part, I like to be able to accomplish something in this regard. And I was feeling like I was in a rut with podcasts. I really was. I was listening to the same ones over and over again. I wasn’t getting anything new, but it was out of habit that I keep turning those on. And so I made the decision to switch up my entertainment, and I started listening to books. A couple of fiction books, and then I’d switch that up and I’d throw in some historical accounts of World War 2 that I found really fascinating. And then I’d throw in some really cool scientific breakthroughs.

There’s a book called the end of Alzheimer’s that I’m listening to right now by Dr. Bredeson. And it’s fascinating. Goodness, it just keeps me fresh. And it’s just like that new pair of sneakers. It represents something. It’s new. It expands a different part of my thinking. And it represents something important, and that’s that I’m growing myself in new and wonderful areas. So if you’re a podcaster, I recommend you download a book.

Or, also, third option, if you’re still wanting to stay tied to your phone and listening to something, download some music. Download a new album. Lord Huron is one. I hope I’m saying his name correctly; It might be wrong. But that’s one that I downloaded recently, and it’s just such a nice break from chatter. Sometimes you just want to listen to some music. Or, just be alone with my thoughts. So mix it up. Find what’s right for you, and try it on for size.

Number two of our five ways to infuse a little more joy into the day is to stay off social media unless your posting. {laughs} I threw that last piece in there, especially for people who have businesses that are online. Like yours truly. Just for a day. Just try it on for a day. And then try it on for maybe another day if you like the way it felt. It’s going to feel uncomfortable and a little different, but try to stay off of social media for consuming information.

And again, oh my goodness, what a great business person I am! Because my first two tips have essentially told you to stop following me and listening to me! {laughing} But I really, I think it’s important. You guys. I think it’s important you understand that it’s ok. And I want you to hear it from the horse’s mouth, the person who is putting out the content. It’s ok to not tune in. And it’s ok to not log onto social media. And it’s ok to take your day back in that regard. If you feel like, when you pull up social media. Whether it’s Instagram or Facebook, you are thrown in with all the drama of everybody else’s stories.

I feel that way when I turn on Facebook. I hid my Facebook; my personal Facebook app at the back of a folder on a phone that’s kind of hidden on my phone so that I was able to break the habit of opening it up to check things. And it made a huge difference! I stopped checking it. And I only really started logging on to share things. Even some of my good friends who post their whole lives on social; some of my blog colleagues. Diane Sanfilippo is one that comes to mind, or Juli Bauer. I catch myself in text messages with them having no idea what’s going on in their lives, because I realized I hadn’t watched their stuff for a couple of days, maybe a little bit longer.

Now granted, this again doesn’t make good business sense for me to tell you this because the less you follow me and check, the less you will see my stuff pop up on your account. But I want you to know that that freedom is available. Take a day back. At least don’t log onto social media unless you have something to post, and then shut it down, turn it off, and move on with your day. See how you feel.

Number three. Ok, this one might be the closest to an obvious choice, but I think its worth putting in here. So our number three way to infuse a little more joy into the day is to give yourself a special treatment. {laughs} And what I mean by that is sort of a spa type oriented treatment. Do something good for your body, good for yourself, which will in turn be good for your mind.

So, maybe that is we do a deep conditioner on our hair; a deep conditioning treatment. There are some really wonderful oils out there. Moroccan Method has some really good scalp treatment oils. Something like that. Maybe you do a mask. Beautycounter is one of other favorite safer skincare companies. Has these wonderful masks. Three of them; a brightening, a plumping, and, gosh, what do they call it? The balancing, which is the charcoal one. Which is really great for acne prone skin, any kind of irritated skin in general. Try on one of those masks.

Do something nice for yourself. Just to treat yourself. Maybe give yourself a home manicure. Schedule a massage, drop in and have your shoulders rubbed. I could use one of those right now. Do something nice just for yourself.

Number four. Oh, I love this one. This one works for me every time. If I want to infuse a little more joy into my day. If I want to skip my way into bed, and curl up and giggle, and look at my husband in one of those ways where he says; what is on your mind? And I always say, I don’t know. I’m just in a good mood. It’s probably because I did this thing.

Choose one space in your house and organize it. One space. Think about maybe it’s your closet. I hope this doesn’t sound too trivial. But it really is a big mood booster for me. Maybe it’s your closet. Maybe it’s your shoe rack. Maybe it’s where all of your jewelry is stashed. That’s my next project. I’m going to get myself a good jewelry organizer. Maybe it is your dresser drawers. Maybe it’s your bedside table. Reorganize that bedside table and get it to function in a way that you feel good about, right? Put up all those hair ties and those hair clips where they belong. And get out just that one tube of Chapstick and put that next to your bedside table. Put up all the books you haven’t touched in a couple of months that are still sitting there, right? Organize that space. It can be that simple.

Organize the junk drawer in your kitchen. I know you’ve got one! I’ve got one. Go through it. Organize it. Throw some stuff away! Unclutter it just a little bit. Maybe organize your freezer. Go through and throw out some old stuff that’s really too old and maybe freezer burnt, and make room for new meals and rediscover what’s in there. And then maybe you’ll find some more inspiration for food, right? And I bet that your next grocery bill will be a little bit less, because you’ll have a better handle on what stuff you’ve actually got.

Organize your car. Maybe the center console in your car is needing some attention. Go ahead and go through and organize all those things. The pantry; oh my goodness. That’s also another one on my list before baby gets here. Organize your pantry! Go through and chunk the stuff you don’t want. Reorganize the things that you do. Get some bowls and some baskets. And get things organized in a way that makes everything easy to find, easy to see, and it probably just helps you take a deep breath. Ok? That is going to be, {laughs} I bet that’s going to work. It really works for me.

Ok, then a number five way for infusing a little more joy into the day. This one is the easiest. And of the other ones I mentioned so far, I would say choose one, right? I would say choose one of the top four. Whether it’s change your entertainment, stay off of social media, give yourself some kind of a spa treatment, and organize one space in your house. Choose one of those, right? We don’t want to overwhelm ourselves. Choose one, and then also do this last one. Because this one is so easy.

Pay somebody else a compliment. Ok? Whether you pick up the phone and you call them. You send them a text message. Or you log onto social media, because you’re actually posting something. You post it on their wall. Maybe you send them a private message. Whatever it; maybe you drop by. Maybe it’s a neighbor and you drop by their house. Pay somebody a compliment in a way that’s probably just out of the blue for them. And I guarantee it’s going to make you feel great.

Think about somebody who you admire. Think about something that they did that you admire. Think about maybe something that you look up to and how they carry themselves. Whatever it is. Call it up and tell them. I had a photography session last night in College Station, Texas. Heather Writ; she’s of Writ Studio there in Bryan/College Station. If you guys are in that area, I highly recommend you look her up. And we had an awesome photo shoot. She’s an incredibly talented photographer.

And she was showing me some of the shots at the end of it, and I said; wow, you are so good at what you do. And it was just incredible. She just bubbled over. She says, thank you so much for the compliment! She really meant it. It’s her job; obviously she would be good at what she does. And it seems so obvious that maybe I wouldn’t even have to give that kind of a compliment. But reassuring somebody; sometimes just telling somebody what you’re thinking and what you admire and what you see in them in a positive. Sometimes telling them that goes a really long way. So go ahead and say those things.

We just had a carpet guy come over to our house, and is going to help us install some carpet. And he was wonderful. He was a wonderful person. He really sounded like he knew what he was talking about. And we told him that; wow, you really speak well to your business. It’s an honor to be able to work with you, thank you so much. You’re a wonderful professional. And it’s so interesting how many times people are taken aback. And it just makes you feel so good to know that you were able to give somebody a gift that is so obvious to you and maybe the rest of the world. But maybe not as obvious to them. So pay somebody a compliment.

It doesn’t even have to be that profound. It could also be your mom. Maybe you call up a parent and say, “I just wanted to let you know, dad, that I really admire the way you raised us. You did a fabulous job. I’m just so tickled to be your daughter.” Right? Something like that. We don’t hear those kinds of things enough. We’re too focused on, I think, real conversations. What we would consider to be real topics. Time sensitive topics. Are you going to help me pick up the kids on Friday? Who’s coming to the birthday party on Saturday? But sometimes we forget to acknowledge the bigger things. The things that really mean something. The things that put a little extra pep in their step, and when you see that pep in their step I bet it puts a little bit extra pep in your step too!

Ok everybody. I hope you found that helpful. I’ve got some more mindset focused podcasts coming up. So you’ve got those to look forward to. We have a bunch of really cool interviews coming up. I’m really excited about where the podcast is going to go the rest of this year, and of course into 2018. Baby girl is due on January 13th, 2018, but that does not mean you’re going to miss a beat here on the show. We will have shows lined up. Really, really good stuff. I think that the more I plan ahead, the better my content gets. {laughs} So you guys have got some treats ahead.

I hope you found this helpful. Remember that you’ve got this. At the end of the day, choose one. Even if it’s just paying somebody a compliment every day. That’s a really good one. It’s a really easy thing to do. You can even put a little reminder on your phone that it’s 10 a.m., have you paid somebody a compliment today? And I have a feeling it’s going to make a big difference in your day.

Thank you guys so much for tuning in. As always, you can find a complete transcript of today’s show over at www.fedandfit.com. And I will see you all, talk to you all again next week.



About the Author

Cassy Joy Garcia, NC

Cassy Joy Garcia, a New York Times best-selling author, of Cook Once Dinner Fix, Cook Once Eat All Week, and Fed and Fit as well as the creative force behind the popular food blog Fed & Fit.


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2 Comments

  1. Your mindfulness podcasts are my favorite! They really do set the mood for my day and I seriously notice a difference in my attitude the days I listen to those podcasts! If I’m in a rut I go back an relisten for a reminder. Can’t wait for more mindfulness podcasts!

    1. I’m so glad to know you enjoy them, Kayla!! I’ll keep ’em coming 🙂