Q:   We've received so much LOVE from our subscribers who received the "Seeds of Intention" cards in our winter Love Yours Box.  What's the inspiration behind these impactful cards?

A: 7 years ago, living a life of ‘shoulds’ and trying to meet insatiable expectations caught up with me.  I’d been riddled with stress and severe anxiety for some time and had opted to numb it out with alcohol.  It was a dark spiral.  As I got help and started to recover, I thought to myself - if I’m going to go through all this trouble to turn my entire life around, I want to connect with joy always.  And - imagine what I could do if I put my energy into being intentional and creating my life on purpose.  It was (and still is) a million small steps that add up to big strides.  I created these cards because we all need beautiful reminders.  Being intentional means we’re mindful and conscious - and, not on autopilot.  These cards are a meant to be an inspirational nudge to show up in a new way, participate in life and be our best selves.  They are an invitation to inspire and empower ourselves every day.

Q: May You Know Joy is the goal for anyone's life. Joy is eternal as happiness is a temporary emotion.  Any advice on how to create a life full of joy? 

A: I believe that joy is a choice.  And - it’s an inside job.  We must love ourselves and choose to create a life that fills our souls.  We do this in a million small ways every day.  Choose to create joyful moments - what things nourish your body, mind and spirit?  Maybe it’s your favorite tea, a great song, texting your friend, reading your favorite book, going to an awesome yoga class, walking your dog.  In each day, choose to include things that fill your heart.  Joy is not meant for the future or some sort of delayed gratification.  By cultivating it in small ways, you will KNOW it in your mind and your heart.  This is the joyful life.  The effects of these small, cumulative actions are powerful and profound.  This daily practice will also help you navigate tougher times.

Q: Love Yours Box was created to remind women everywhere to #LoveYourselfMore - how do you encourage others to achieve this? 

A: When I started my recovery, I had to slow down and be WAY kinder to myself.  I encourage women to prioritize things that nourish them and make them feel fulfilled - being around good friends, doing activities they love, having good influences around them, nourishing their bodies with good food, physical movement and rest.  I also encourage them to cut back on the things that deplete them (toxic social media, people, environments, over-giving…).  There’s an amazing meditation teacher named Sharon Salzburg who encourages ending each sentence with “and it’s OK” and I love this.  “I screwed up - and it’s OK” “I’m grouchy and it’s OK” You get the idea.  Let’s notice our thoughts and treat ourselves like we would treat our best friends - with love, compassion, a big hug and maybe a good belly laugh.

Q:  Adrienne, what do you do to "Connect to you Joy?” 

A: In many ways!  Yoga is a very big part of my life.  I can’t do fancy handstands or anything like that but, it really helps me connect my body, mind and spirit.  To me, it is a great metaphor for showing up as I am and intentionally practicing.  It also provides me with greater ease and mental clarity.  I always have my favorite music playing.  Bruno Mars is pure joy!  I make a lot of time for my friends and having adventures.  I love to cook and get outside.  I work a lot and play a lot.  I feel like mixing it up brings a lot of joy to everything.  In every moment, I try to ask myself, how could I infuse this with more joy?  It’s not a perfect science but, it’s a very worthwhile practice.

Q:  Self-Love is required to obtain joy, which is why our collaboration made perfect sense.  How do you recommend others navigate those not-so-joyous moments of life?

A: This is an awesome question. Ironically, in tough times, I find that my connection to living intentionally and connecting with joy becomes stronger because I really need to ask myself, how do I need to navigate this in a way that is aligned with integrity and joy? If you are practicing living intentionally on a regular basis, it definitely poises you to handle the tough stuff better.  And - the tough stuff is inevitable.  In tough moments, I always feel a heightened need to take care of myself and to rest.  I also ask myself how my next step can be aligned with joy (even if it’s not joyful in the moment).  For example, when I was navigating my divorce, I knew I would have to complete a lot of financial documents and paperwork (which i was dreading for so many reasons).  As I stared at the ominous task, I asked myself, how can I get through this?  In addition to ensuring I had a strong and supportive network, I named the file on my desktop “The Freedom Project” - while I would still not enjoy the paperwork, i broke it down into manageable daily chunks and could navigate it because completing these tasks was in alignment with my personal freedom and, ultimately, great joy.  All this to say, when you are in your personal integrity, navigating from a place of self-love and compassion and tethered to your joy - the path becomes much clearer and more meaningful.