Durable Joy
Sometimes it's the choice to open anyway.

Joy was never meant to be delicate.
Not the real kind,
not the kind that survives grief and still shows up for the sunrise.
not the kind that grows in the dirt—beneath cracked foundations and broken systems.
The joy I'm talking about is stubborn.
It's holy.
It's been through hell and still sings.
This world will try to convince you that joy is a luxury.
They will tell you, you have to earn it,
that you have to heal everything first.
They want you to think you have to fix yourself before you can feel anything good - and then they want you to believe you are unfixable.
The most radical thing you can do in a burning world is to choose joy that lasts.
Joy doesn't have to need perfect conditions.
Joy doesn't have to flinch when the headlines scream.
Joy doesn't have to disappear just because the sky gets dark.
This isn't the kind of joy you post about.
This is the kind that lives in your bones.
This is the kind that says:
Even here. Even now. Even with all of this—
I still belong to myself.
I still claim my light.
I still choose to feel.
That's what I do with my clients.
I don't teach performative gratitude.
I don't coach you to smile through the pain.
I don't sell false positivity wrapped in healing hashtags.
I help you root into something real.
I help you build a joy that can hold you.
Joy that knows how to dance even when your heart is cracked open.
Joy that does not rely on everything being okay—because let's be honest, most days it's not.
But even in the mess, in the grief, in the fire—
you can still have joy.
Not the loud kind, not always-
sometimes, it's just the soft breath that says I'm still here.
Sometimes it's the moment you realize you don't owe the world your despair.
Sometimes it's the choice to open anyway.
That's durable joy.
That's the kind that doesn't just survive—
it remakes you and it remakes your life.
You don't have to wait until the world is fixed to feel something good.
You don't have to stay numb just because there's so much to grieve.
You don't have to harden just to keep going.
There is another way.
If you want joy that's built to last—
if you want to feel again without falling apart—
if you want to come home to yourself in the middle of the storm—
This is the work.
I'm ready when you are.
Let's build something beautiful that doesn't break when the world does.
I want to chat about the things you obsess over when you lie awake at night. I want to unpack your dreams and your nightmares. I want to talk about who you were before all that shit dimmed your shine and how to get her back.
I’m not here to fix you because I don't think you're broken—I’m here to help you fall in love with yourself and your life again. No mood shaming, no gaslighting, just real, transformative coaching from someone with three decades of experience. Ready to reclaim your fire? Let’s set some sparks flying. DM me or check me out online at https://www.lisamhayes.com .
You can also find me at https://www.thecoachingguild.com/ if you’re interested in coach training.