The Power Of Grabbing Happy
By Elissa Yancey
Elissa Yancey is CEO of a nonprofit and author of Grab Happy. (Photo by Tina Gutierrez)
The words spilled out of my mouth before I could stop them. I was leaving a book signing with a friend, and as we walked toward our cars, we shared stories about the ending of our marriages, our grown children and the future, which felt simultaneously full and empty.
“Grab happy,” I said.
I was echoing advice my Mom had given me from a hospital bed. As her caregiver, my life had grown grim with the kind of adult realities rarely discussed outside of therapists’ offices—taking care of a parent’s healthcare and home management while living through a heart-wrenching divorce, holding down two jobs and raising two young sons.
“Advice from my Mom,” I said. “She was in the hospital, and I was there to comfort her, but really she was comforting me.”
I had spent years focusing on the next task to be done, the next box to be checked, the next responsibility to be shouldered. What I had forgotten to do was remember the power of joy. With two words, my Mom reminded me to seek out moments of happiness to lighten life’s heavy duties.
Years later, my friend told me how those two words had given her solace and hope during dark days. Inspired by that, I made those two words the title of my first book, a collection of essays and lessons I’ve learned about caregiving, life and death.
Today “grab happy” is more than a catchphrase to me; it is a life and leadership tool I share every chance I get because it allows me to reconnect with my Mom, to smile and to reflect on the value of her healing advice.
Elissa Yancey is an author and CEO of a nonprofit.@elissayancey ; https://www.facebook.com/elissa.yancey/ ; https://www.instagram.com/elissaleeyancey/ ; https://www.linkedin.com/in/elissa-yancey-57595b4 ; https://books2read.com/
““I had spent years focusing on the next task to be done, the next box to be checked, the next responsibility to be shouldered. What I had forgotten to do was remember the power of joy. “ —@elissayancey #PowerToChangeStories ”