Journey Together
Joy
A Sense of Wholeness
Fuels Creative Expression
A Sense of Wholeness
- Why: When you’re frequently managing symptoms or caregiving tasks, it’s easy to feel like a condition, not a person. Joy reminds you of your wholeness.
- Tips: Make time for activities that have nothing to do with illness or responsibility—something just for you.
Micro-Joy Moments
Fuels Creative Expression
A Sense of Wholeness
- Why: You don’t need a perfect day to feel joy. Noticing small pleasures helps you stay rooted in the present.
- Tips: Collect small joys: sunshine, a cozy blanket, a funny video, the sound of wind. Keep a joy jar or journal.
Fuels Creative Expression
Fuels Creative Expression
Reconnects You to Life Purpose
- Why: Creating something—even imperfectly—reminds you that you can bring something beautiful into the world.
- Tips: Try writing, drawing, cooking, gardening, or music. Let go of the outcome—create for the experience, not the product.
Reconnects You to Life Purpose
Reconnects You to Life Purpose
Reconnects You to Life Purpose
- Why: Chronic conditions and caregiving can narrow your world and blur your sense of identity. Joy opens space for meaning.
- Tips: Reflect on what makes you feel most like you—even if it's small. Make room for that regularly.
Joy Can Be Shared
Reconnects You to Life Purpose
Create Space for Joy
- Why: Joy multiplies in connection. Shared laughter, support, or celebration strengthens relationships and lightens the load.
- Tips: Reach out to someone who lifts your spirit. Share something joyful together, even virtually.
Create Space for Joy
Reconnects You to Life Purpose
Create Space for Joy
- Why: Routines can feel rigid—but rituals invite intentional pauses and personal connection.
- Tips: Light a candle before bed. Play a favorite song each morning. Make a weekly “joy check-in” part of your rhythm. Learn more about how to create moments of joy.
Eases Emotional Burden
Eases Emotional Burden
Eases Emotional Burden
- Why: While it doesn't erase grief or fatigue, joy softens them—offering lightness and rest for the heart.
- Tips: Don’t force joy. Instead, ask: What might I enjoy today? Try that, even for five minutes.
Permission to Dream
Eases Emotional Burden
Eases Emotional Burden
- Why: Chronic conditions can shrink your future vision. Joy opens your heart to possibility again.
- Tips: Make a “maybe someday” list—small dreams, trips, or experiences you’d love to explore when/if you're able.
Permission for Joy
Eases Emotional Burden
Permission for Joy
- Why: Many caregivers or people with chronic conditions might feel guilt or shame about enjoying life. But joy is not something you earn—it’s something you just enjoy.
- Tips: Let joy be a balm, not just a reward. Remind yourself: Even when things are hard, I am allowed to feel joy.
Reflection
Reconnects to Purpose
Supports Emotional Regulation
Supports Emotional Regulation
- Why: Chronic conditions can make life feel like it's on hold. Reflection helps you reconnect with why you keep going and what truly matters.
- Tips: Ask yourself regularly: What is meaningful to me right now? What gives me a sense of purpose, even in this season?
Supports Emotional Regulation
Supports Emotional Regulation
Supports Emotional Regulation
- Why: Naming your emotions helps prevent them from building up. It brings clarity, relief, and insight.
- Tips: Pause and ask: What am I feeling right now? or What might this feeling be trying to tell me?
Make Sense of Your Experience
Supports Emotional Regulation
Make Sense of Your Experience
- Why: The ups and downs of a chronic condition or caregiving can feel disorienting. Reflecting helps bring shape and understanding to the journey.
- Tips: Try journaling for 5–10 minutes a day—or even just a weekly note: What did I learn or notice this week?
Grounds You in the Present
Grounds You in the Present
Make Sense of Your Experience
- Why: It gently draws you out of the chaos or overwhelming feeling of daily tasks and helps anchor you in the present for what you need.
- Tips: Try a daily check-in: What do I need today? What am I grateful for today? Even a few purposeful deep breaths count.
Fosters Creativity
Grounds You in the Present
Fosters Creativity
- Why: Insight often sparks inspiration. Many people turn to writing, music, or art during reflective moments to express what words alone can't.
- Tips: Try reflective creation—write a letter to yourself, paint your mood, or capture your week in a short poem or photo.
Builds Compassion
Grounds You in the Present
Fosters Creativity
- Why: Looking inward often softens judgment. It helps you see yourself and others through a kinder, more understanding lens.
- Tips: Ask yourself, What would I say to a friend going through this? Then, offer that same grace to yourself.
Helps Track Growth
Creates Space for Decision-Making
Creates Space for Decision-Making
- Why: Chronic conditions can make progress feel invisible. Reflection reveals how far you’ve come, even in subtle ways.
- Tips: Revisit old journal entries or notes and highlight any growth—physically, emotionally, or spiritually.
Creates Space for Decision-Making
Creates Space for Decision-Making
Creates Space for Decision-Making
- Why: Chronic conditions often demand difficult choices. Reflection helps you align your decisions with your values.
- Tips: When facing a choice, ask: Does this move me closer to peace? To healing? To the life I want to build?
You’re Still Becoming
Creates Space for Decision-Making
You’re Still Becoming
- Why: Navigating a chronic condition can feel like a full stop. But you are still growing, learning, evolving. Reflection lets you witness that.
- Tips: End your week by asking: What did I learn about myself this week? or Who am I becoming, even now?
Assessment
StrengthsFinder
Meaningful Work Kit
StrengthsFinder
- Why: It identifies your natural talents and energizing zones—so you can build your purpose around what you do best, not just what you’ve done. Clifton StrengthsFinder Top 5 Assessment. Or similar free option via HIGH5.
- Tips: Focus on your Top 5 Strengths and ask: How can I use even one of these in small, meaningful ways this week?
Working Genius
Meaningful Work Kit
StrengthsFinder
- Why: This tool identifies the stages of work you naturally enjoy—like ideating, activating, or finishing. It helps you contribute in sustainable, life-giving ways. Working Genius Assessment.
- Tips: Lean into your Geniuses and try to minimize or delegate your Frustrations. Ask: Where can I offer value without draining myself?
Meaningful Work Kit
Meaningful Work Kit
Meaningful Work Kit
- Why: This evidence-based tool explores what makes work or contribution meaningful based on your identity, values, and goals. It’s ideal for redefining purpose while living with limitations. Meaningful Work Kit Assessment.
- Tips: Reflect on the components that matter most to you—like autonomy, impact, or connection. Ask: How can I pursue meaning, even in small or flexible ways, within my current reality?
Myers-Briggs (MBTI)
Ikigai (Japanese Life Purpose Model)
Meaningful Work Kit
- Why: It offers insight into how you think, recharge, and relate to the world—valuable when illness or caregiving disrupts routines. MBTI Assessment. Or free option via 16Personalities Assessment.
- Tips: Consider your energy orientation (Introvert/Extrovert) and decision-making style. Ask: How can I create space that honors my natural rhythms?
Ikigai (Japanese Life Purpose Model)
Ikigai (Japanese Life Purpose Model)
Ikigai (Japanese Life Purpose Model)
- Why: It helps you find your “reason for being” by exploring what you love, what you're good at, what the world needs, and what can be sustained. Ikigai Assessment.
- Tips: Draw your own Ikigai diagram and journal: Where is the overlap between my passions, skills, and capacity?
VIA Character Strengths
Ikigai (Japanese Life Purpose Model)
Ikigai (Japanese Life Purpose Model)
- Why: This free, research-based tool helps you identify your top character strengths like kindness, curiosity, or creativity—great for aligning purpose with values. VIA Character Strengths Assessment.
- Tips: Choose one top strength and reflect: How could I express this in a small act, creative project, or connection this week?
Enneagram
Creative Type
Enneagram
- Why: It helps you understand your core motivations, fears, and longings. This insight can guide both inner healing and outward purpose. The Enneagram Institute Assessment. Or free option via Truity.
- Tips: Explore your type’s “growth path.” Ask: How can I create something that aligns with my deeper motivations?
Berkman
Creative Type
Enneagram
- Why: This assessment provides in depth insight for individuals and teams, such as understanding needs and stress triggers. Berkman Assessment.
- Tips: The Berkman is accessed via connecting with a member of their sales team. They offer a customized approach based on business or team size and need.
Creative Type
Creative Type
Creative Type
- Why: A free, insightful tool by Adobe that reveals your creative strengths (e.g., Dreamer, Thinker, Innovator). It connects identity with expression. Creative Type Assessment.
- Tips: Reflect on your type’s creative superpower. Ask: How can I creatively express this part of myself—even in small ways?
Life Calling
Life Mission Statement
Life Mission Statement
Life Mission Statement
- Why: A mission statement helps clarify your core values and intentions. It becomes a compass, even when life feels uncertain.
- Tips: Reflect on: What matters most to me? What do I want to give or stand for? Then write 1–2 sentences that sum it up. Let it evolve over time. Here are tips on how to write a life mission statement.
Life “Purpose Mapping”
Life Mission Statement
Life Mission Statement
- Why: This self-assessment uses your lived experiences to highlight patterns, resilience, and callings.
- Tips: Draw a timeline of your life. Mark moments of joy, challenge, and creativity. Ask: What themes do I see? Where might I be headed next?
What Energizes You
Life Mission Statement
What Energizes You
- Why: Chronic conditions can drain energy, so noticing what gives energy is powerful. These sparks often point to purpose.
- Tips: Keep a simple journal: What gave me life today, even for a moment? These clues matter.
Gifts & STrengths
What Breaks Your Heart
What Energizes You
- Why: You don’t have to be at full capacity to use your gifts. Even small offerings can express your calling.
- Tips: Make a list of your natural strengths, including nontraditional ones—like listening, encouraging, noticing beauty.
What Breaks Your Heart
What Breaks Your Heart
What Breaks Your Heart
- Why: Passion often lives close to pain. What moves you, angers you, or makes you want to help is often part of your calling.
- Tips: Ask: If I could ease suffering in one area, what would it be? Then explore how you might contribute—gently, creatively, sustainably.
Talk to Trusted People
What Breaks Your Heart
What Breaks Your Heart
- Why: Sometimes others can see our calling more clearly than we can—especially when we feel foggy or disconnected.
- Tips: Ask 2–3 people: What do you think I’m good at? What do you see me bring into a room, a relationship, or the world?
Your "Why" Statement
Your "Why" Statement
Your "Why" Statement
- Why: A simple “why” anchors you. It helps you make decisions, prioritize your energy, and stay grounded in hard seasons.
- Tips: Try this format: I exist to [contribution] for [people/cause] by [how you do it]. Example: “I exist to bring encouragement to weary hearts by writing and listening with compassion.”
Start Small
Your "Why" Statement
Your "Why" Statement
- Why: When navigating a chronic condition, you might not be able to create a five-year plan. That's okay—just focus on the next right step. Purpose unfolds through small, meaningful actions.
- Tips: Ask: What’s one simple way I can live out my calling this week—in my home, online, or through creativity?
A Way of Being
Your "Why" Statement
A Way of Being
- Why: When a chronic condition limits “doing,” it’s freeing to remember that your presence and way of being are a calling.
- Tips: Reflect: Who do I want to be in this world? Kind? Brave? Gentle? Your calling can live in every interaction, breath, and moment.