The Joy family brings together 7 core values: Joy, Enthusiasm, Fun, Hope, Humour, Playfulness and Pleasure. They share a theme, delight, lightness and enthusiasm for life, and each puts the weight somewhere slightly different. If two or three of them feel true of you, this theme probably matters a lot in how you choose your work and spend your time.
The values in Joy
Joy
Joy as a core value means making room for delight: noticing the moments that lift you, letting them land, and shaping your work and life so they keep happening.
Enthusiasm
Enthusiasm as a core value means throwing yourself wholeheartedly into whatever catches your interest, and bringing an energy to it that tends to lift the people around you.
Fun
Fun as a core value means bringing lightness, laughter and enjoyment into everyday life and work, especially with other people, so that even serious things feel worth doing together.
Hope
Hope as a core value means believing that a better outcome is possible and worth working for, even when you can see clearly how hard the situation is.
Humour
Humour as a core value means noticing what’s funny and sharing it, using laughter to connect with people, cope with pressure and say true things lightly.
Playfulness
Playfulness as a core value means bringing a light, experimental spirit to work and life, trying things to see what happens and helping people think more freely.
Pleasure
Pleasure as a core value means making time to enjoy and savour good things, like food, company, music and the outdoors, and treating enjoyment as worthwhile in itself.
About the author
Matt Rutherford is a Career and Leadership Coach. The Values Finder is the same exercise he uses with his coaching clients. He also writes Stuff that MattRs, a weekly newsletter with practical ideas to help you think clearer and work better.
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