Blog – Debra Joy

How to break through limited thinking.

There’s a question I ask myself and others, that might be helpful when you’re feeling stuck and want to see more possibilities. When clients are feeling constricted by their situation, I ask them to forget about the limitations for a moment, and instead, I ask a question that begins, “If you could have it any way you…

How to thrive during family holidays.

In case your family gatherings aren’t always a scene from a Hallmark Holiday Movie, I’ve got a few tips to survive, and maybe even thrive this holiday season.It helps to remember that you can’t control the weather, the crowds, lost luggage, or delays. And you certainly can’t control “them”. Accept that most things will be out…

More joy and less stress for the holidays

We’re officially in “The Holiday Season”. Whether you celebrate something, everything, or nothing at all, the holiday season is almost impossible to ignore. Most people find themselves getting busy with big parties, travel, and small get-togethers. Even if it’s all good and fun and you love doing it, being busy can be a source of…

Here’s a radical way to increase your dopamine.

Do you know what Friday, November 25th is? It’s the 30th Anniversary of: BUY NOTHING DAY Oh ya, it also happens to be black Friday, more on that in just a second. Buy Nothing Day wasn’t created as an anti-Black Friday or Anti-Christmas event. In fact, when artist Ted Dave of Vancouver, Canada launched the first…

More of one and Less of the other (Part 2)

In an earlier post I recommended that you spend less time “thinking globally” and more time “acting locally”. I shared the potential negative effects of too much attention on global issues that you can’t control. (I didn’t include this earlier, but you may want to block notifications from your local social media site – you know the one. It can be a bullhorn for…

Saying No to Love, helped me be more loving.

If all had gone as planned, this would be the final day of The 30 Day Love Explosion. This a free program I offer every couple of years because I absolutely LOVE it. I Love the impact it makes in people’s lives. I Love that people from 10 countries have done it. I Love hearing stories of friends…

Do you need more of one and less of the other?

Remember the term “Think Global. Act Local.” It was coined by Scottish social activist and town planner, and revived by environmental groups decades later. It definitely got my generation thinking about the impact of our actions on the world around us. Which is a very good thing. But too much of a good thing can…

Stop doing this if you want to be truly great.

Think of someone great. Someone who inspires you, really impresses the pants off you. It may be someone quiet and unassuming, or someone who makes a big splash in the world. It can be in any field. Nelson Mandela, Jane Goodall, Steph Curry, Margaret Atwood, Greta Thunberg, Jerry Seinfeld, Lizzo… Whoever it is, you know…

Is this morning habit fueling or depleting you?

Want to up your energy, motivation, belief in your abilities, and general sense of well-being? I thought you might. One of the key indicators of how motivated, energized and happy you are, is your dopamine level. Dopamine is a neuromodulator that affects all of that and more. A depletion of dopamine can be devastating. You can…

It might be time to start again.

Years ago, my husband and I sat in silence with a group of strangers in Joshua Tree for 10 days. As part of this Vipassana retreat, we meditated for about 10 hours every day. Each session of sitting would begin with a recording of the teacher, S.N.Goenke saying, “Start Again”. To this day my husband…