Joy Is a Vitamin, Not a Reward 🎓

I read an article today

written by a man

named Jordan Cooper

for a website

called VegOut.

I’ll leave y’all

the link

at the end

of this post

so you can

check it out yourself.

The article was entitled:

“If a Woman’s Soul Is Tired,

She’ll Often Display

These 10 Distinct Behaviors

(Without Realizing It).”

Now,

the title alone

caught my attention

—because lately,

I’ve been unusually

worn out

and struggling

to get my

“joy”

back.

You know that feeling?

Where life

keeps moving

but your spirit

feels stuck?

Yeah,

that’s where I’ve been.

As I read,

I noticed Jordan spoke

a lot about joy

—the joy I’ve been missing—

and he offered some practical,

down-to-earth tips

on how to regain it.

But here’s the part

that stopped me

in my tracks:

#10. She treats joy

as a reward

instead of a daily vitamin.

Jordan wrote,

“A soul that is tired negotiates with joy.”

Whew.

That hit me.

Because that’s exactly what I’ve been doing.

For too long.

I realized

I’ve been negotiating

my joy out of guilt.

Out of compassion

for the terrible things

happening in the world.

Out of worry

over the choices

my children are making.

Out of love for family,

friends,

and the men in my life.

And let me be clear

—I’m not—

talking about

becoming selfish or cold.

That’s not my story.

What I’m saying is this:

I’ve been emotionally

carrying the weight

of other

people’s decisions,

decisions

that I didn’t even make.

And in doing so,

I’ve been neglecting my joy.

The truth is

—my joy—

is not a prize to be earned,

it’s a vitamin.

A necessity.

Something I need

to take daily,

regardless

of what’s going on around me.

Jordan’s article was refreshing.

It was written almost like poetry,

and it gave me something

I didn’t even realize I needed:

A reminder

that joy belongs to me,

and I don’t have to negotiate it away.

If you’re tired like me,

I highly recommend you read it.

Here’s the link:

👉🏽 If a Woman’s Soul Is Tired, She’ll Often Display These 10 Distinct Behaviors (Without Realizing It)

All I’m sayin’ is…🫦

take your joy daily.

Don’t wait until it feels “earned.”

—Reina Dee 🌿