Tools of Life is written and produced by Julie Ford of Julz of Life where we've been supporting parents and teens as they navigate the challenging richness of raising the next generation. This stage of life is full of our own "remember when" and "oh boy, here we go" moments that we can choose to either DREAD or RELISH. No stage of parenting should need to be endured.

JOY is a choice and that's where we've started our continuing conversation:

7 Rules I Follow Since Choosing JOY!

But we've tweaked the title. We have a lot of non-conformist listeners out there (aka - rule benders and breakers or "shenanigators"). So now we have:

7 Habits I've Adopted Since Choosing JOY! And this first habit is about collecting smiles and finding joy in joyless places. When we squeeze a smile out of someone, the joy is usually contagious.

On Tools of Life, we offer you something to ponder, something to practice, and something to play with. Here you go!

Something to . . .

Ponder:

Without your smile, the world cannot be saved. ~ A Course in Miracles

Practice:

Gather 3 smiles a day. Then tell someone about it. Spread the joy, amplify it by telling the story!

Play with:

Grab some self-adhesive googly eyes, keep them with you at all times, and boldly "face" the world. Sit back and watch the reactions.

Resources:

Ted Geisel is Dr. Seuss's real name. If you didn't know this, I'll forgive you (and we can still be friends), but it's best to commit this fact to memory if this relationship is going anywhere.

"Find joy in a joyless place" is from the metaphysical text, A Course in Miracles.

Self-adhesive googly eyes (because if they aren't ready to go, are you EVEN a shenanigator at all?!) can be found at most craft stores and on Amazon. Empty vitamin supplement containers make great travel tones for these.

About the "7 Habits I've Adopted Since Choosing JOY" series - After going through a life swamp, Julie learned a few lessons about climbing out of the muck and thriving. Each of these nuggets is a show in itself, so that's just what we're all about in this series! Buckle up for some perspective to help you get from "frustrated and frazzled" to "laughing and lovin it" faster.

Tools of Life - where we bring enough levity and perspective to you on Friday that you love the weekend big time and make people wonder what on EARTH got into you by Monday.

For more tools, contact Julie Ford at julie@julzoflife.com or follow Julz of Life at https://www.facebook.com/julzoflife/

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