Hey there, friend.

I hope you had a warm and meaningful Thanksgiving—whether yours was big and bustling or quiet and reflective. This time of year always reminds me how healing it can be to pause, take a breath, and truly let ourselves feel gratitude. And as I was recording this week’s podcast episode with my guest, Natalie King, I was struck by how beautifully gratitude and joy weave into each other.

Natalie and I had the most powerful conversation about joy—how we find it, how we allow it, and how we can intentionally cultivate more of it, even when life feels heavy. We talked about “catching joy” in real time, almost like catching butterflies… noticing those bright little moments that want to land on us if we simply make space for them.

And it got me thinking:

Joy isn’t something that “just happens.”
Joy is something we can practice.

In the episode, we explored three simple foundations of joy that I want to share with you here:

1. Presence

Joy lives in the now.​
When Natalie talked about her joyful moment that morning—walking her dog with the autumn colors glowing around her—it wasn’t a big, orchestrated event. It was presence. It was noticing the light, the colors, the playfulness.
Presence opens the door to joy because it pulls us out of our heads and back into our actual lives.
Even one minute of being fully present can shift your entire nervous system.

2. Gratitude

Gratitude doesn’t ignore the hard.
It simply makes room for the good, too.
This is something I see so often in my coaching: people feel guilty for experiencing joy when the world feels heavy. But joy doesn’t erase the hard. It supports us through it.
Gratitude is like the lens that helps us “catch” those small, beautiful moments we might otherwise overlook—yellow leaves, warm weather, a kind word, a quiet breath.

3. Intention

Intention is where joy becomes a habit.
It’s one thing to notice joy, and another to choose it.
Choosing to dance in your kitchen.
Choosing to take the long route home to see the trees.
Choosing to let yourself laugh—even if it feels silly.
Choosing to enjoy your favorite drink instead of rushing through it.

Intention is how joy stops being a rare surprise and becomes part of who you are.

Natalie and I went deep into how we can practice joy daily—even for just five minutes—and how it builds emotional resilience, helps regulate our nervous systems, and reconnects us to our aliveness.

If you need a little more levity or permission to embrace joy without guilt, this conversation is for you.

​👉 Listen to the full episode—it's one of my favorites we've ever recorded.​
​Watch or listen now on your favorite platform.

And as we move beyond Thanksgiving and into the rest of the season, I hope you let yourself experience joy not just today, not just this week, but all year long. You deserve it—truly.

With gratitude and joy,

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P.S. If you’re ready to build more joy, resilience, and self-trust into your life, you can always schedule a free clarity call with me. Let’s talk about what’s possible for you. Simply reply to this email to get started!