Joy is the greatest marker of success. The more joy you feel, the more successful you will feel.

This post was promoted by this week's question from Maria who asked "How can I be Motivated by Joy and Excitement rather than by Fear?"

Watch my Video and then read below…

7 Ways to be Motivated by Joy rather than Fear

1. Figure out what brings you JOY

Now my joy is not necessarily your joy. Do English bulldogs fill your heart with joy and warm fuzzy feelings?! Probably not. And if they do, let's hang out sometime, especially if you bring your own furry friend ;-).

So many people I work with don't actually know what brings them joy.

Maybe you know what's supposed to make you happy, society and the media or your parents say what will make you happy, but it's not actually making you happy deep down...

If so, it's time to give yourself permission, support and the opportunity to rediscover what brings you joy now. Yes, what bring JOY to the woman you are right now. Because it changes over time. There are even things that made me happy 2 years ago, that do not make me as happy now.

Even things that made me happy several months ago don't have the same effect now - when you are on a steep upwards path of self development you can change a lot in a short space of time. When I was making £20-30k months last year, I realised this alone didn't make me happy. The money was great, but it wasn't bringing me joy - and waking up on my own every weekend, going on holiday on my own, and planning a future by myself was not bringing me joy.

2. Create ‘joy breaks’

If you have spent much of your time bringing up young children, you have probably got used to putting yourself last, and joy might simply look like a good night's sleep right now! Allow yourself to think bigger, and create the time and support for a 2 hour joy break each week where you do activities that make you feel joyful on your own. Play a little! Experiment a little! Be curious about what brings you joy truthfully.

3. Get Clear on the Fear & Face it Head On

Get clear on your fears, and put in place support to work through them. Explore them in your journal and give them space to be heard and processed and felt, but don't let them dominate your life. Allow the focus on joy to be bigger than the fear. The great news is that the more you clear your fears the easier it is to get back on track with feeling good and back connected with joy again.

You might know what brings you joy but you are also carrying so much conditioning and programming that blocks you being able to say Yes to yourself and your joy, that you can't really allow much joy into your life. Things like 'It's impractical to focus on joy', 'It's not possible for me' or 'It's selfish to focus on myself". Maybe it was modelled for you not to ask too much from life, or that you would always struggle or believe you are not enough. These are all areas I work on with my clients to help them release the blocks to being in their joy & abundance.

4. Become a Joy Magnet

Being in joy attracts more joy, and then that attracts even more joy! You become all sticky with joy and before you know it, it's all over you like a child with sticky fingers. Start looking around for things you appreciate about exactly where you are right now. Really absorb, notice and focus on each one just for a moment.

5. Focus on What you Do Want

This means thinking more about what you DO want, than what you don't. There are several different ways to do this - the first is the bigger picture thinking - the vision board, the legacy you want to leave, what you want your life's work to be about.The second is on a more day to day level - by being INTENTIONAL and focusing on what you want to be, do and create each day. Hour by hour. Set an intention going into each task about how you want it to go and what you want the outcome to be.

e.g I see this blog post being fun, easy and joyful to write. The perfect words flow through me and onto the page as if by magic. When people read this post they feel uplifted and inspired.

6. Open your Heart

Life can be tough, life can be painful and life can be suffering. In response, our heart can close down to protect itself from more hurt. In order to survive we can close down our hearts to keep us safe.

The problem is that when our hearts close to protect us from yet another broken heart, disappointment or failure, we also close to love and we close to joy. Imagine a pipe being squeezed and the flow of love in becoming restricted.

7. Surround yourself with people on the positive path

When you commit to focusing on joy rather than fear, it's really key that you surround yourself with people on the same path. Inspiring, positive friends committed to their own growth, to living life in a positive way and seeking solutions and to become the best person they can be.

If you have a question for me to answer, email in at hello@livingbeautifully.com & your question will be considered for future episodes!I'd love to hear what brings YOU joy... share below in the comments!