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IDAHOFALLSMAGAZINE.COM 61 JOY SQUARED | CELEBRATE LIFE ■ A lifelong advocate of New Year's resolutions and goals, I determined to lump my intentions into one empowering word to live by for the upcoming year. Eager to experience this new methodol- ogy, I immediately chose my word and frequently reminded myself of this dictum. I reached out to friends to exchange and share motivational ideas to enhance life using my chosen word as a guide. The word I selected was JOY, even though I had embraced that joyful expres- sion over the years. I even used Joy for one of my daughter's middle names. And, after reeling from an unexpected cancer diagnosis, I determined to live more fully in joy from that point on. I named my website CelebrateWithJoy.com as it best describes my recommendation to others to live a happy, fulfi lled life. After all, joy is described as a feeling of great pleasure, happiness, delight, jubila- tion, triumph, exultation, rejoicing, glad- ness, exhilaration, exuberance, elation, euphoria, bliss, ecstasy and rapture. Who wouldn't want a year, even a life fi lled with that word? With the underlying expression joy con- tinuously in my thoughts, I plan every facet of my life with that term in mind. I strategize how I can make my business more joyful. I lay out my plans and inject ways to infuse it into my career. Posting positive affi rmations in my offi ce is one of my joy "sparkers." Relationships are elevated when joy is the underlying factor. Life needs laugh- ter, and laughter is a great stress reliever, always with joy as the result. Creating family events which elevate the quality of our lives, strengthen our bonds, support one another and—you guessed it—intensify our joyful relationships, is a rewarding investment of my time. At the beginning of each year I generate a spread- sheet of planned events so everyone in my family has the calendar of what I title Stucki Family Fun. We add events throughout the year but the basics are listed by Jan. 1. Each year I have in excess of 80 different occa- sions, many of which we celebrate together. Besides holidays and birthdays, we list our family reunions, graduations and other milestone occasions, cattle branding and round-up dates, concerts, school events, vacations, camps for the kids, church and community events and other important dates where we celebrate our traditions. Each event is based on the premise to spark joy and kindle it brightly now and cherish the experiences in our memories for years to come. "Joy sparkers" is the term I have adopted to identify and embrace those moments that add enjoyment to our lives. Recognizing them is part of the fun. They don't have to be sophisticated or expensive. Watching the sunrise or sunset, accomplishing something very diffi cult, performing an anonymous act of service, sharing a compliment, listen- ing to music that sings to your soul, fi nding a $20 bill then slipping it into someone's pocket, texting a message of encourage- ment to a friend, greeting your family as you would a long lost friend, meeting a deadline a few days early, and a myriad of other life experiences can be joy sparkers. My word the following year was JOY 2 . That's right, Joy to the second power, Joy squared. And now, I continue for my third year, with Joy as my mantra, determined to squeeze as much joy out of life as possible. Typically I would select a new word but have big plans to infuse JOY in the upcom- ing weeks and months. Here's to JOY 3 ! Power Word For The Year Life needs laughter, and laughter is a great stress reliever, always with joy as the result. IF BY SUSAN STUCKI