ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Takeaways
- Scheduling joy on your calendar with the same seriousness as a work meeting makes it far more likely to actually happen.
- Saying no isn't rude or selfish. It's a form of self-care that protects the time and energy you have for what matters most.
- Joy changes with every season of life. What brought you happiness in your 20s can look completely different in your 30s or 40s, and that's normal.
- Building a personal joy inventory, a running list of what actually makes you happy, gives you something concrete to reach for when life feels heavy.
- You don't need anyone's permission to prioritize your own happiness. You just need to start small and put it on the calendar.
Summary of the episode
This episode is a replay, bringing together Kayla's full three-part miniseries on joy from earlier this year into one place for a fall reset. It kicks off with the case for treating joy like an obligation instead of an afterthought. Kayla walks through why she blocks off her calendar for fun the same way she'd block off a work meeting, why she thinks people who let vacation days go unused are making a mistake, and how a Mental Health Awareness Month lens shapes the way she thinks about prioritizing happiness.
From there, the series moves into the art of saying no. Kayla gets personal about her own history with FOMO, tracing it back to going to work at sixteen years old and spending most of her twenties saying yes to everything out of guilt or obligation. She reframes saying no as a direct act of self-care, offers a few practical ways to say it gracefully, and lands on a line that carries through the rest of the series: every no is a yes to yourself.
The final piece is about figuring out what actually brings you joy in the first place, since it's hard to prioritize something you haven't named. Kayla breaks joy down into four categories, creative, physical, social, and relaxation, and walks listeners through building a joy inventory they can return to whenever life feels heavy. Even though this show is built around cancer and caregiving, the message underneath all three episodes is one Kayla comes back to often: joy isn't something you earn after everything else is handled. It's part of how you get through the hard stuff in the first place.
INDY is short for "I'm Not Done Yet," a phrase often said by the late Kyle Strand during his courageous battle with colon cancer. Kyle's four-year journey was both extremely challenging and profoundly beautiful. Though he lost his battle in July 2017, his legacy lives on through his two dying wishes: to establish the INDY Foundation and to inspire others to live every day to its fullest. In August 2017, the INDY Foundation was born, continuing Kyle's mission to support and uplift cancer warriors everywhere. Find more information here: www.indy-foundation.org
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ImNotDoneYetMN
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/indyfoundation/
Join our INDY Tribe - Inner Circle FB Group. A group for those affected by cancer.
