Do you like change? I do! I’m invigorated by change. My business has changed since I became a life coach; and I suspect it will keep changing as I grow and add different modalities to my practice.

I just used my name when I started-out. It was easy; and no matter what direction I went with my business, it would work. But when Joyfully Empowered came into my mind, I just knew. I’m working on developing my signature course, and that’s the name I chose.

Let’s break down the name, shall we?

Joyfully. adverb
1. full of joy, as a person or one’s heart; glad; delighted
2. showing or expressing joy, as looks, actions, or speech

Empowered. verb (used with object)
1. to give power or authority to; authorize, especially by legal or official means
2. to enable or permit

Now the real question: can you be empowered… but not joyfully so? I believe you can. You can enable/permit yourself to stay at a job you don’t like because you need that income. You can enable/permit yourself to stay in an unhealthy relationship for the sake of your children. I’m not saying either of those is right or wrong; but the fact is people empower themselves all of the time to do things that don’t bring them joy.

Throughout my healing journey, I came to realize how much of my life I had empowered myself to do things that didn’t bring me joy. I had been running on limited beliefs and trauma responses. Even just recently, I was in a place where I dreaded going to work – and I didn’t dislike my job (I had a great boss, too!); but it didn’t bring me joy. I was not spending time doing things that brought me joy; and I was slowing suffering for it.

There is no way I can cover all of my healing & growth in just one blog post. But, in learning how important self-care is in my life, learning my Human Design, and taking time to meditate & sit in stillness, I have found what brings me joy.

Self-care. One of my trauma responses was to remain busy so I didn’t have time to feel my feelings. So, naturally, I felt all the guilt when I wasn’t constantly busy. That’s the opposite of joy. Did I have some big, awful feelings to work through? Yes. Was that a joyful process? Absolutely not. But bringing self-care into my *daily* life allowed me to heal little-by-little. Now that I’ve gotten away from feeling guilty about self-care, taking care of myself brings me joy. After all, I want my family to have the best of me, not the rest of me.

Human Design. I am a Projector, which means I don’t have boundless energy, yet I magnify and I’m affected by the energy of those around me. I need frequent rest and self-care. I am efficient; but only if it’s the right situation for me. Learning to live in my design hasn’t been an easy process as the world today is all about getting as much done as possible; but when I do live in my design, my whole life improves. When I’m not expending too much energy, I can find joy.

Meditation. I used to think I couldn’t meditate, at least not properly. There was no way my mind was going to be still and quiet and dark. Thankfully I learned that’s not necessarily the goal of meditation. And also, the word “practice” is very important. Sitting in stillness goes along with my daily self-care. Taking a moment to break away from social media, screens, and even other people energizes me. Being energized brings me joy.

The BEE in my logo is representation of joy also. Without bees, humans cannot survive; at least not in a healthy state. Without joy, humans are just barely surviving. My bee represents hope… and joy.