One Thing That Brings Me Joy

I promised that I'd share some of the things that have helped me refocus and work through burnout, so here's one of my favorites.  A big thing for me has been paying more attention to the positives. This always worked for me when things were tough in the classroom - recognizing positive behaviors, celebrating little wins - it shifts my mood and that of those around me. In looking for a way to do this in my own personal life I settled on the idea of challenging myself to take at least one picture a day of something, anything, that brings me joy.  

Trying to find one thing each day that is beautiful, or brings a smile to my face, helps me be present in the moment. I give myself a little wiggle room (it's important to be realistic right?!) so I shoot for 23 photos at the end of each month.  Then I've been adding all of these to a photo book, and at the end of the year I order the book and have this physical reminder of all of the lovely pieces of my life. If that doesn't bring joy then I don't know what would! I'm on my second year of this project and it's become so meaningful to me. It would be really easy to fill the entire book with pictures of my girl, but I really make a point to keep those to a minimum, this is for ME and I know that part of the burnout I experienced was related to losing those pieces of myself in mothering.  Besides, we have a million photo books full of that girl 😂 I take pictures of everything else - great meals, things I've made, beautiful landscapes, things that make me laugh, friends, and special activities. Just thinking about all of these is good for my soul, so seeing them is even more powerful.  

Here's one of the monthly page spreads in my book from 2021, I'll share more when I have 2022's version completed!