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2 WAYS TO MODIFY YOUR LIFE FOR MORE JOY
We recently published life coach Meghan Gieber’s article about the power of implementing modifications in life (just like in barre3 class) to create lasting changes towards joy. This article, part two, dives into two practical tools about how to make small changes so that you live with more purpose.
The barre3 workout empowers clients to take modifications. Modifications minimize pain, protect from injury, and allow bodies to get deeper into the postures. Modifications remind us that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all workout—but that you can create one when you listen to your body and give yourself permission to adjust to your needs.
Applied more broadly, there’s no one-size-fits-all life, either. In theory, every human being would adapt away from pain and toward joy. In practice, we commonly find ourselves conforming under the same societal pressures, losing track of what feels good to us along the way. But if we celebrated modifications that feel good in life, I wager we’d all feel that post-class elevated sense of accomplishment in every aspect of our lives. Here are two tools for modifying your life toward joy starting today:
Tool 1: Go back to your childhood play days
Before we can modify toward joy, we have to get clear about what actually brings us joy. My favorite way to do this: Ask your childhood self. The things you used to wildly imagine and do for play as a child are big indicators into your natural interests. Try this exercise to better remember your childhood self:
Imagine you were given a big box. You open the box and find it full of items from your childhood—things you used to happily play with for hours on end. Go through this imaginary box slowly and write down things that are coming up for you. Do you see dolls with costumes? Cardboard boxes in the shape of spaceships? A secret clubhouse filled with stuffed animals? If you don’t recall these kinds of memories from your childhood, think about your young natural skills and interests. What did you want to be when you grew up? Let your imagination run wild.
Now reflect on what you have written down and see if any iteration of these things still fascinate you today. What still feels like magic? What childhood talents are connected to what you do today? And finally, how can you bring more of these interests into your everyday life?
Tool 2: Separate your heart from your head
The heart functions like a brain in that it has ~40,000 neurons that feel, sense, learn, and remember—but it doesn’t have an ego or live in fear. This next exercise will help you tap into the voice of your heart so that you can hear its messages clearly, without distraction from the ego. When we make decisions from the heart, we steer closer to our purpose. Try this tool:
Refer back to the interest you want to incorporate more into your life from the first tool. Now sit down in a chair. This chair represents your head and ego self. Now go sit in another chair. This chair represents your heart self. You’re about to have a conversation about your desired interest between your head and your heart.
Starting with your ego self and chair, let your head kick off the conversation about your interest. Once you’ve received a message (you can vocalize it or keep it in your thoughts), walk over to your heart self and chair, and respond to what your head just said. Go from head to heart, from chair to chair, as many times as it takes until you’ve exhausted the conversation between the two and have an insightful message about your interest.
Reflect on the conversation and write down something compelling that you noticed. How do your ego and heart differ? How can you bring more messages from the heart into your life?
These two simple tools will help you quickly identify what brings you joy and how to push past mind chatter from your ego that might be blocking your transformation. The learnings from these tools lead to this final question: What small modification can you make to your life today to feel more joy? Keep shifting toward joy, releasing fears from the ego, and discover how your micro changes create big results over time.
I would love to hear about your progress toward reaching goals, or answer any questions you have about mine! Feel free to connect with me at meghan@meghangieber.com, on Instagram at @meghangieber, or visit my website.
Ready to discover the role modifications play in giving you a great workout? Start your 15-day free trial of barre3 online workouts today or join us in the studio for 2 weeks of unlimited classes for $49.
We recently published life coach Meghan Gieber’s article about the power of implementing modifications in life (just like in barre3 class) to create lasting changes towards joy. This article, part two, dives into two practical tools about how to make small changes so that you live with more purpose.
The barre3 workout empowers clients to take modifications. Modifications minimize pain, protect from injury, and allow bodies to get deeper into the postures. Modifications remind us that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all workout—but that you can create one when you listen to your body and give yourself permission to adjust to your needs.
Applied more broadly, there’s no one-size-fits-all life, either. In theory, every human being would adapt away from pain and toward joy. In practice, we commonly find ourselves conforming under the same societal pressures, losing track of what feels good to us along the way. But if we celebrated modifications that feel good in life, I wager we’d all feel that post-class elevated sense of accomplishment in every aspect of our lives. Here are two tools for modifying your life toward joy starting today:
Tool 1: Go back to your childhood play days
Before we can modify toward joy, we have to get clear about what actually brings us joy. My favorite way to do this: Ask your childhood self. The things you used to wildly imagine and do for play as a child are big indicators into your natural interests. Try this exercise to better remember your childhood self:
Imagine you were given a big box. You open the box and find it full of items from your childhood—things you used to happily play with for hours on end. Go through this imaginary box slowly and write down things that are coming up for you. Do you see dolls with costumes? Cardboard boxes in the shape of spaceships? A secret clubhouse filled with stuffed animals? If you don’t recall these kinds of memories from your childhood, think about your young natural skills and interests. What did you want to be when you grew up? Let your imagination run wild.
Now reflect on what you have written down and see if any iteration of these things still fascinate you today. What still feels like magic? What childhood talents are connected to what you do today? And finally, how can you bring more of these interests into your everyday life?
Tool 2: Separate your heart from your head
The heart functions like a brain in that it has ~40,000 neurons that feel, sense, learn, and remember—but it doesn’t have an ego or live in fear. This next exercise will help you tap into the voice of your heart so that you can hear its messages clearly, without distraction from the ego. When we make decisions from the heart, we steer closer to our purpose. Try this tool:
Refer back to the interest you want to incorporate more into your life from the first tool. Now sit down in a chair. This chair represents your head and ego self. Now go sit in another chair. This chair represents your heart self. You’re about to have a conversation about your desired interest between your head and your heart.
Starting with your ego self and chair, let your head kick off the conversation about your interest. Once you’ve received a message (you can vocalize it or keep it in your thoughts), walk over to your heart self and chair, and respond to what your head just said. Go from head to heart, from chair to chair, as many times as it takes until you’ve exhausted the conversation between the two and have an insightful message about your interest.
Reflect on the conversation and write down something compelling that you noticed. How do your ego and heart differ? How can you bring more messages from the heart into your life?
These two simple tools will help you quickly identify what brings you joy and how to push past mind chatter from your ego that might be blocking your transformation. The learnings from these tools lead to this final question: What small modification can you make to your life today to feel more joy? Keep shifting toward joy, releasing fears from the ego, and discover how your micro changes create big results over time.
I would love to hear about your progress toward reaching goals, or answer any questions you have about mine! Feel free to connect with me at meghan@meghangieber.com, on Instagram at @meghangieber, or visit my website.
Ready to discover the role modifications play in giving you a great workout? Start your 15-day free trial of barre3 online workouts today or join us in the studio for 2 weeks of unlimited classes for $49.
