Unrushed Reset - Week 3
Creative Spark & Self-Connection
This week, we invite you to reconnect with joy not as a luxury, but as an inner resource - a bright - often buried under duty, survival, or emotional fatigue.
Reclaiming Your Joy
We often chase happiness thinking it’s the goal — the reward for getting life “right.” But happiness is a guest: it shows up when conditions are favourable, when boxes are ticked, when things go to plan. Joy, on the other hand, is different.
Joy is quieter, deeper. It doesn’t always need a reason. Where happiness depends on what's happening around you, joy can exist in spite of it. Joy might meet you in a moment of stillness, a burst of colour, a silly memory, or the freedom of creating something just for yourself. It doesn’t ask for perfection — just presence.
But joy can be hard to access when we’re worn thin or stuck in survival mode. That’s why this week, we’re gently turning inward — to notice, nurture, and reclaim what brings you back to life. Not because you’ve earned it, but because you’re allowed to feel it.
Reset Pathways by Personality
Leah – The Reflective Introvert
Leah finds joy in peace and colour. She doesn’t need a party to feel alive — a freshly brewed cup of tea, a walk through a tree-lined path, or discovering a forgotten journal entry can fill her heart. But lately, life has felt grey. So this week, Leah experiments with colour. She starts wearing bolder hues and lights a candle that smells like her favourite holiday. Slowly, joy tiptoes back in.
Mindset: Joy doesn’t have to be loud to be real.
Self-Care: Choose one sense (sight, smell, touch) to stimulate intentionally each day.
Emotion Tool: Make a list of quiet joys — things that lift your spirit without overstimulation.
Creative Spark: Create a ‘colour joy board’ (physical or digital) inspired by images that spark a smile.
Dayo – The Curious Extrovert
Dayo thrives on laughter, playlists, and making people feel seen. But lately, even his voice notes feel heavy. The usual hype isn’t working. So this week, Dayo pauses. He chooses one creative project just for fun — a funny reel, a dance challenge, a playlist called “Joy, Please.” He remembers what it feels like to make something without needing an outcome.
Mindset: I’m allowed to do things just because they make me smile.
Self-Care: Block out 20 minutes of joy time this week — no productivity required.
Emotion Tool: Use music to shift your energy — build a “feel better” playlist with songs from joyful moments.
Creative Spark: Make something to share — a funny post, an uplifting quote, or a joy memory in story format.
Malika – The Highly Adaptive Overthinker
Malika is the planner. She holds space for everyone else and often forgets to ask what she needs. Joy used to feel like a luxury. But this week, she lets go. Just a little. She watches clouds with her daughter, doodles during a Zoom call, and giggles at an old comedy. She realises joy doesn’t make her weaker — it recharges her to show up fully.
Mindset: Joy helps me carry life better.
Self-Care: Schedule one “non-goal” moment this week — no fixing, no solving, just being.
Emotion Tool: Ask yourself each day: What made me smile today?
Creative Spark: Start a Joy Jar — each time you experience a joyful moment, write it down and collect it.
Tomi – The Brave Primary Parent Over 45
Tomi juggles so much that joy often feels like something for later. But recently, a quiet Saturday morning changed everything. Their son was drawing cartoons and asked Tomi to join. They laughed over stick figures and old stories. And for once, there was no multitasking. Just shared joy. That moment became a doorway back to themselves.
Mindset: Joy is not a distraction. It’s a declaration of wholeness.
Self-Care: Reclaim one childhood joy (drawing, puzzles, music) and do it without apology.
Emotion Tool: Joy check-in — ask, Have I laughed today? Have I played?
Creative Spark: Host a mini joy moment with family or self — music, pancakes, game night, or solo paint-and-sip.
Why Joy Matters
Joy isn’t a reward — it’s a resource. It’s the spark that reminds you who you are beyond duty, stress, or circumstance. In a world that often celebrates hustle, joy becomes a quiet rebellion. It reminds you that you're more than your productivity — you're a person with colour, laughter, silliness, stillness, and softness.
Neurologically, joy is healing. It reduces stress hormones, increases serotonin, and helps regulate our emotional state — which in turn improves focus, sleep, and even digestion. It’s not fluff. It’s function.
But joy also requires permission. So this week, we’re practicing giving it to ourselves — in small, beautiful, imperfect ways.
Why Not Try This?
Practical Reset Practices for Reclaiming Joy
Make a Joy Map: Think back to moments when you felt most alive - who were you with, what were you doing, how did it feel? Sketch them or note keywords. What's one way to recreate a moment this week?
Make Something Without Outcome: Paint, doodle, voice-note a poem, sing in the shower - not for anyone else, just for the joy of it.
Create a Joy Playlist: Include songs that lift you emotionally or remind you of joyful seasons. Bonus if you dance to them in socks.
Start a Joy Box or Folder: A digital or physical space where you collect joyful memories, photos, notes, smells, or reminders.
Here are some free resources for you to explore Your Personality Wiring:
- https://www.16personalities.com
- https://www.truity.com/test/enneagram-personality-test
- https://quiz.gretchenrubin.com/
Reflection Prompt
"Where has joy felt absent lately, and what might I do to welcome it gently back in?"
Spiritual Anchor
Principle: Joy is a strength - not a distraction.
This joy is not performance-based. It's a gift - rooted in knowing you're not alone, not forgotten, and not defined by your last difficulty.
Let it ground you, even as you rebuild your rhythm.
"Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." -Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV)
