Session 4: What happened when she finally chose joy

Years ago, I said something to a client that surprised even me:

“That which brings you the most joy is what will bring you the most.”

The words felt true the moment I spoke them. And they’ve been a guiding principle ever since—for me and for every client I work with.

I believe we need to prioritize joy for a host of reasons. It lowers stress, it keeps us focused on what lifts us up instead of what drains us and—obviously—it’s a valuable way to use one of our most precious resources. Time.

Today I want to share with you the story from a private client—and how quickly she was able to shift from stress and overwhelm to joy and prioritizing what was truly important.

Session four. She told me—laughing, almost incredulous—that she’d taken a spontaneous day off mid-week.

“If you’d told me I’d do this in session one, I would never have believed you.”

Here’s what changed…

The Challenge

She came to me after hitting some issues in a project at work. She wanted to know how to deal with people who are so completely different, who you don’t understand.

She wanted support with her sensitivity and how to handle that, how to trust her intuition and heal some intense past experiences.

She could see that in order to be ready for a big promotion she was being considered for, she needed to work on herself and invest in her personal growth. A colleague suggested she could really benefit from working with me.

She’s a high-achieving, high-performing workaholic who—like so many others—wasn’t taking enough time for herself.

The Shift

In session 2 or 3 we joked “Be careful working with Iris, you may start enjoying your life!”

Then in session 4, everything changed.

She shared she had spontaneously taken a day off in the middle of the week. And used that day to go to a theme park with her kids. She even rescheduled meetings to make that possible.

She said “If you had told me this in session one, I would never have believed you.”

The Transformation

She quickly got to a place of understanding that prioritizing taking care of yourself is a valuable investment not only in your own health but also in productivity.

And she was really able to see the proof of that. It felt great, she was so excited and couldn’t believe how good it felt.

She even took it a step further and told her team why she was rescheduling: because she felt like it. It inspired her team to do something similar.

Where she is now

She’s running with the things we’re working on and sees the ripple effects both in her personal and professional life. She feels more confident in setting boundaries and communicating those clearly with the people involved—knowing both she and the company will benefit when she can excel.

For example, when the CEO told her to focus on an extremely important and urgent project, rather than try to keep all the plates spinning and deplete herself (which used to be her default), she indicated which activities she would have to postpone in order to be able to ensure the quality of her work, and her own sanity.

Does this sound familiar?

The endless spinning plates. The guilt about not having enough time. The sense that joy has become a luxury you can’t afford.

That’s exactly what I help clients shift.

I have two private mentoring spots open right now. If you’re ready to move from overwhelm to joy—like she did—let’s talk.

→ Read more about Private Mentoring here.
→ Book a Free Clarity Session now.

PS This is one of 12 transformation stories I just published. Check them out here and see which one resonates most with you.

Iris van Ooyen guides people home to themselves. As a life transformation mentor with 20+ years of experience, she offers hope with a compass—helping you find your way back to who you truly are when life’s demands have made you lose touch with yourself. She’s the author of Radiant: How to Have All the Energy You Need to Live a Life You Love. Contact Iris to come home to yourself—and love your life again. 

Follow her on LinkedIn and Instagram.