From Surviving To Thriving: Choosing Joy On Purpose

What if joy wasn’t something you waited for, but something you scheduled? We open up about moving from survival mode to a simple, repeatable plan that makes happiness a weekly habit, not a rare surprise. No perfection, no fluff—just real tools you can use today, even on a tight schedule and a tighter budget.

We break down the “joy list” method: write every activity that sparks delight, from quick wins like snapping photos of flowers and sunsets to big dreams you’ll save toward over time. Then pick two items each week and actually do them. Along the way we talk through ADHD-friendly grounding, using the five-senses check-in to pull your attention back to now when your mind loops the past or races into the future. The point isn’t to ditch healing; it’s to weave joy into it so growth feels lived, not theoretical.

Life throws curveballs—storms, delays, detours—so we design joy in different sizes for different days. We keep the big goals visible while building tiny, immediate moments of meaning that are easy to choose. You’ll hear candid reflections on staying proactive instead of reactive, rebuilding balance after burnout, and refusing all-or-nothing thinking. We don’t promise expert answers; we promise honest example, steady encouragement, and practical steps you can copy right away.

Make your list. Pick two small joys for this week. Tell us what you chose and how it felt. If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs a lift, and leave a quick review so more people can find this space.

Transcript

Bonus Setup And Wisconsin Plans

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Hi, this is Get It Got It Girl, your transformational coach and emotional strategist. So if you are hearing this episode 15 today, that means I stayed an extra week in Wisconsin with my sister during the Christmas holiday. Every time I go to Wisconsin, I don't know why I always plan a trip back. Because I always extend my time there. Okay, so you're listening to Get It Got It Girl. This is episode 15. This is just a little quick bonus episode that I'm going to make ahead of time just in case. I have been through some work with the turkey and the everything. So what am I going to talk about, episode 15? I know I wrote something

Declaring A Fresh Focus On Joy

SPEAKER_00 0:52

down. Oh, moving on. Okay, so I am moving on. And I do want to focus more on joy and things that bring me joy. And I once did this thing where for five minutes I wrote down everything that I wanted to do. And even today, while I'm at the library recording this, I grabbed like five books all about different things. Hold on, let me look at them real quick. Please hold some of them fell. Okay, so I grabbed, oh, the desert companion about different things. Focus on your health, a life of their own, and the weekly guide for Las Vegas. And the pet scene. So and that's what I'm gonna do. Start exploring. Explore what I want to do, write down what I want to do.

Building A Joy List And Picking Weekly

SPEAKER_00 1:47

I already know what I want to do and make it like I don't know, let's say. I would say two days in the week. I do at least something that's on my list. Ooh, this could be exciting. I'm not sure how I'm gonna do that. I don't know how many I'll I'll put like the short things, I guess, that I can do based on, you know, obviously I can't just go to the Bahamas one day. I mean, like, oh, I can't just pick for the week out of the hat or the whatever bag. And I know I say that funny for Wisconsin. And so, yeah, I will just pick from that bag. And oh my gosh, now I'm like sidetracked. I want to go to Atlantis, Bahama. Bahamas, the Atlantis resort. I can't wait. It's on my list. And though I can't pick that out of a hat, I will just start saving for it and plan for two years.

Big Dreams And Simple Daily Joys

SPEAKER_00 2:45

And so, okay, so this is more about doing things that are joyful. And I can already tell, like, I feel so much better on this episode talking. I feel, and this is the same day. This is after going through episode 14 and talking about the struggles of this last week, but talking about the things that bring me joy, and it's so silly because some of those things are so simple. Taking pictures of churches, taking pictures of flowers, taking pictures of the sky. Like it's just stuff that I could do. And I know I lay in bed too much, so I need to at least get out and do these things. Wow. I love when I have epiphanies on the air. I'm so excited. I'm so glad. And I hope that's part of your life. I hope that you can take, you know, just maybe you do write down some things and put them in a hat or put them in a bag. I don't know what people do to pick or just mix them up and put them on the cupboard or whatever you want to do. Just I'm gonna suggest maybe you try that out because I think that's kind of cool. I'm not gonna like say you have to, but maybe, maybe that's a good, good little coping skill or good little fun thing that you can do. I know we can't just I, we, and that's where I need to learn. I'm not sure when I'm talking to you if I should say we or I. Just I think that it would be great to kind of have a balance. I and I know it's hard to have a balance. See, everything I say, there's another side. I don't think everything is just black and white. I think there's a gray area. There's two sides to every story, there's two sides to every thought, maybe more.

Balancing Past, Present, And Future

SPEAKER_00 4:33

But there are different things in life that we need to experience. And I'm ready. I'm ready. I feel like there's been so much healing, and I'm not gonna stop healing. I'm not gonna stop the podcast. I'm not gonna stop self-growth. But part of self-growth is finding your life again and even finding things that you didn't even know that you'd like to do. I mean, I can't even imagine in February when I move out on my own, and sooner if I can get it together. But I just can't wait. I'm so excited. I'm so thrilled. I'm gonna keep my eye on the prize. I like to stay in the present more, but you know what? Okay, so kudos and good for any of you that can do that, but that is just tough for me, especially with the ADHD ADHD. I just go from the past to the future. I will pull myself back into the now. A lot of times, if I get overfixated or I can't sleep, like if I'm thinking too much about the past or the future, I'm like, okay. I do that five method where they say look at five items and touch different things and smell and feel, just to bring me back to where I am, like you are here right now. Right now, and I want to say, I can only control what I'm doing right now. I can only be doing something. I can't control what happens. Like I'm in the middle of the podcast room right now. You never know what could happen. That's what life is about. They're full of adventures and surprises, and some of them aren't aren't fun, and some of them are like amazing. And that's just what life's about. We don't know what's in the future. Sure, we can guide ourselves and kind of try to plan out, or but you just you don't know day to day. Like, I don't even know. I'm gonna go fly in

Staying Real About Uncertainty

SPEAKER_00 6:20

five days. I don't know if I'm gonna fly. What if what if something happens and you can't fly that day or snowstorm? No, I'm coming from Vegas going back to Wisconsin, and that's very possible. And so maybe it that is good advice to stay in the now. But I also think for me, that could be dangerous because if I stay in the now, I'm I'm just here. What am I doing? I don't want to like not be responsible anymore. So I'm in the now. I'm working on the past. And I am in the future. I think it's normal to be in all three. And I don't know, for those who can just be in the now, wow, I think that's an amazing gift. And who knows, maybe going forward after I do more of this shadow work, I'm going to be more in the now and more in the joy. And that's the end result. And it is true, we only have this one life. And for me, I say we only have one death. And I know it's different for everybody else, whatever that you believe, that's your belief, and this is mine, and I don't fault anybody for any of their beliefs. But for me, I feel like I am alive right now. Wow, and I'm like 53. Wow, I said my age, 53. And I don't know, I might have I don't know, we could have one minute to like I don't know, let's see, 53, maybe 57 years. How old is the oldest person? I don't know, look that up, I'll put it in the comments. But yeah, we just don't know day to day.

Proactive Growth And Gentle Accountability

SPEAKER_00 8:14

So for right now, I'm working on joy and focusing on continuing the self-growth and of course planning for the future. And that's where I guess I need to, not need to, but I have kind of been slacking. Yep. I've been so busy surviving everything that I just go day by day. Who knows what's going to be thrown at me next? And even though that can still be something that's in the future, I can do things to better myself. I can do things to, you know, be more prepared and more, what do you call that? Oh, shoot. Not reactive, but more proactive. Wow. Okay, well, I hope that my epiphanies have helped you with your epiphanies. And I may be changing. I will keep this to get it, got it, girl. But yeah. I don't know. Things that are changing. Okay, well, thank you for listening.

Closing Encouragement And Real-Talk Credo

SPEAKER_00 9:17

This is that little bonus extra episode in case I stay an extra week at my sister's and don't have access to the podcast room. But who knows, this will probably just be posted anyway as a little bonus. Alright, guys. This is get it got it, girl. Your transformational coach. I'm not an expert. I'm here to help you with what I've lived through and teach you the ways that I have helped myself. Leading by example, telling the real raw truth, showing the ups and downs, being real. I am real. I won't ask you to do anything that I haven't done. Okay, have a great week. And do that thing where you write down everything that you want to do to make yourself happy or things that you have wanted to do. Okay, until next week or until the bonus bonus episode, we'll see. Okay, bye. Get it, got it, girl. You guys are amazing. You are wonderful. You are worth everything.