What is it that you enjoy? Figuring out what lights you up

[Intro] Hello and welcome to Empowered to Thrive. I'm your host Corinne Powell. I'm so glad you're here.

No matter what type of day you're having, you're always welcome. I like having you around. This space is especially designed for the person who goes about life focused on everyone else while neglecting their own needs.

The person who says yes when inwardly they want to say no. The person who is frustrated at all they do because they don't receive much in return. If that's you, I'm going to put out some great ideas on how you can change those patterns and get unstuck.

Life isn't meant to be tolerated. It should be enjoyed. So let's get to it.

…

Corinne Powell: Hello friends, how are you doing today? As you reflected on last week, what is it that you've been doing to take care of yourself? I would love to hear.

I have been seeing ways to take care of myself. So I'm doing it right alongside of you. It's a core value of mine to not just speak out of one side of my mouth and live a different way, but for those two things to align.

I want to pose another question for you today. That is, what do you enjoy? What lights you up? What makes you happy? What do you consider fun?

It can be one of the hardest things to know what we enjoy and what makes us happy. If you were the parentified child taking care of other people's needs, emotionally being neglected and overlooked by your parental figures, practically speaking, having to sacrifice a lot for the betterment of other people, you did not consider what you wanted. Other people weren't asking what you wanted. They were expecting things of you based off of what they wanted or what they needed. 

So you're going to have to go on a journey, if you haven't already, to discover what lights you up, what do you enjoy, what makes you happy. On the other side of these questions is a better life. On the other side is more freedom, is more peace, is more joy. Where you get to be you.

I used to be afraid of having fun. If everybody was invited to play a game, to go skiing or snowboarding, to do mini golf or go bowling. I wasn't necessarily excited about it. I didn't mind staying on the sidelines, staying in the lodge, taking charge of the scoreboard. Just observing. Because it can be really scary to let your guard down and have a good time. It can be uncomfortable to relax when you're used to being hypervigilant, when you're used to being the one in charge, the responsible one, the mature one. It can feel childish, silly, wrong to do these other things. 

But they are so necessary for survival, for thriving. You deserve to have a good time. 

You deserve to have fun. And the more you do it, the easier it gets, the more comfortable it gets, and the more you desire it. That might take a while, but it does happen eventually.

And it's a way of honoring your inner child, the little kid you used to be. They deserve to have a good time. They deserve to get to relax and rest, chill out, not always be responsible, not always be mature. A child is a child for a very purposeful reason. They're not meant to be an adult when they're a child. They will become an adult and take on adult responsibilities, but before its time is inappropriate. It's misplaced timing, misplaced responsibility. 

It doesn't mean that a child can never do mature things and shouldn't act responsible. It's simply the idea that we shouldn't be placing on a child what is meant for an adult. There's no reason to race through life. Allow the developmental process to happen as it should.

So going back to this question I started with, sit and reflect. You may need to ask yourself this question as you go throughout your days and your weeks in this next month here. And just notice what you enjoy, what somebody invites you to do that you decline, and for what reason is that.

What type of show are you watching? Is it actually educational? What type of book are you reading? Is it for pleasure or for learning? What type of music are you listening to and what's the driving force behind that choice? What types of food do you enjoy? And what types of food are you giving yourself permission to have? When you interact with people, are you allowing yourself to benefit from the relationship or are you simply being there as a supportive confidant, a good friend? A kind human, without seeking that for yourself in return, whether from that relationship or from other relationships.

What do you enjoy? What lights you up? 

And just witness, notice yourself as you're going through these day-to-day interactions, these normal happenings of the day, and then start to explore and get curious. Even when it comes to the type of food or the type of drinks, do you always go towards one certain thing on the menu? It can be frightening to explore something else and think about facing the disappointment if you don't like it or the waste of money if you don't like it. There's a lot of reasons why we don't take a risk and branch out, but I'm encouraging you to start slowly, of course, but to start taking some risks and branching out and just getting curious and exploring. You won't know unless you try. 

And if we paint the picture that it's fun to explore we might invite ourselves to do it more easily than if we paint this picture that it's frightening and scary and we don't know what we'll get, what we'll find if we explore. See, there's different ways of looking at anything in life. And our perspective is going to influence our feelings as we go through it. So you get to choose your perspective. You are powerful and you deserve to have fun.

So take some moments to reflect and then be very curious and observant as you go about your days. Get to know yourself more, get to know what you enjoy, what lights you up and makes you happy, and what you need to bring more of into your life, what do you need to let go of. See where this takes you. I'm excited for you because on the other side of these questions, I do believe, is a better life. Is a life that you deserve. So go get it.

…

[Outro] We've come to the end of another episode. I'm so glad you stuck around. As you consider what you've heard, what's the one thing that especially resonated with you? What's one way you can start to implement change into your life? Too much too soon isn't sustainable.

Start small and go slow. Consistency is key. If you appreciate what you're hearing on Empower to Thrive, would you kindly leave me a review and rate my podcast? It helps a lot.

I hope you'll share the episode with a friend and come back next week. And don't forget, I'm so glad you're alive.