Podcast Summary: The JOY Broadcast

Episode: The Joy of starting a new year with Devotion (rather than Discipline)

Host: Ali Mortimer, Life Consultant & Joy Coach
Date: January 12, 2026

Overview

In this heartfelt, energizing solo episode, Ali Mortimer welcomes listeners into the first JOY Broadcast of 2026 with a deeply personal reflection on the power of choosing "devotion" over "discipline" as the theme for starting a new year. Through stories of her own challenges, family celebrations, healing journey, and big 5-0 dreams, Ali explores how devotion brings sustained joy, presence, and meaning—especially during life’s wild, uncertain, and unruly moments.

Ali shares her process for selecting her annual "word of the year," her surprising theme for 2026 ("wild"), and how the conscious choice to live devotedly—rather than driven by obligation—transformed her experience of both everyday struggles and milestone celebrations. The episode concludes with an invitation to join her in the "Joy Rebellion," a new membership for women seeking to anchor their lives in joy.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Reflections on 2025 and Setting the Tone for 2026

• Ali starts by reminiscing about the joyful chaos of the recent festive period, marked by family milestones (20th wedding anniversary, eldest son’s 18th birthday) amidst a home renovation and new puppy chaos (02:09 - 07:55).
• She candidly details her struggles with tension headaches and migraines before December, attributing much of it to both physical and emotional stress.

“I was struggling with tension headaches and migraines… I believe it was part hormonal, part tension, because Christmas was coming, and… it was celebration after celebration after celebration.“ (05:16)

2. The Power of “Just On You” (JOY) and Self-Devotion

• Overwhelmed, Ali returned to her foundational joy practices—intentional self-care, meditation, journaling, and gentle presence (08:00 - 12:22).
• She defines JOY as “just on you, just on me,” emphasizing the life-changing importance of putting your own well-being first, without guilt.

“JOY cured my migraines and my tension headaches—focused time on me… to break the tension, to break the adrenaline and the cortisol, to without shame or guilt or any reason other than: I want to end December on a high.” (09:03)

3. Embracing A Wild, Unruly 2026

• Ali introduces her word of the year—“wild”—describing how it was revealed to her in a quiet moment of morning meditation (13:01 - 20:45).
• Initially resisting the word, she delved into its etymology and meaning, discovering its roots as “passionate eagerness” and its connection to nature and forgoing a rigid path.
• “Wild” becomes her energetic theme: to be untamed, passionate, a little rebellious, and to allow life to unfold with more freedom and less control.

“The word is wild. And I was like, ‘You are joking. I am anything but wild…’ But wild is passionate eagerness. It is a little bit unruly; it forges its own path. I was like, oh, I love it.” (17:50)

4. Letting Go of Discipline: Devotion as a Lighter Path (21:02 - 31:58)

• Ali recounts attempting to motivate herself using words like “discipline, determination, dedication,” but realizing these felt heavy and stifling.
• In deep meditation, the word “devoted” surfaced, offering a gentler, more loving approach: being devoted to her one, true life, her health, her loved ones, and her purpose.

“They felt like balls and chains and whips, like, crack the whip, get going... These words don’t feel like my words... The word that came through was ‘devoted.’ Be devoted to living your one true life, your one true purpose.” (26:40)

• Devotion, rather than discipline, is what she recommends to clients: not forcing, but choosing, nurturing, and honoring oneself and one’s journey.

5. Truth and Consciousness: The Path to Bliss (32:00 - 36:35)

• Ali describes a ritual with her redwood tree, asking for the “path” to support her word of the year.
• Three guiding words emerged: Devoted, Truth, and Consciousness:
  • Devoted: To self, purpose, health, and happiness.
  • Truth: Speaking honestly, living authentically, and not hiding behind what’s comfortable or popular.
  • Consciousness: Living in awareness, allowing the soul/subconscious to surface and guide.

“Be devoted. Tell the truth. What’s the truth of your soul?... Bring forth what my soul wants to share and bring it into my conscious and live by that truth and be devoted to my soul.” (34:12)

• The desired outcome: Bliss, inspired by Rhonda Byrne’s book “The Power”—to “follow your bliss,” elevating everyday experience to a state of peace, celebration, and joy.

6. The Joy Rebellion and Invitation to Listeners (37:08 - end)

• Ali launches the "Joy Rebellion," a membership experience for women who want to center joy in their lives for 2026.
• She reiterates that the "rebellion" is not an act of defiance against anyone, but a positive, for-you, for-joy stance: choosing yourself, lifting yourself, and in so doing, raising those around you.

“A joy rebellion is just saying, I choose me… If I lift me, everyone else comes with me. It’s like rising tides.” (40:00)

• Ali invites feedback on listeners’ own words, intentions, or themes for 2026, and encourages connection via social channels.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Choosing the Theme "Wild":
  “It’s time to bring that [wild] part of you forward. She’s there, she’s here… This year is going to be wild and it’s going to be fun. It wasn’t in defiance of anything. It was a pure choice to let that part of me come forward.” (18:35)

• On Devotion Over Discipline:
  “You don’t need determination, you don’t need discipline and you don’t need dedication. You just need devotion to yourself, your life, how you want to remember it in hindsight.” (30:29)

• On Joy as Strategy and Lifestyle:
  “When joy is your strategy, when joy is your lifestyle, it becomes a super attractor. And joy is what got me here to the Maldives. I can’t believe I’m saying that.” (36:23)

• On Self-Devotion as Rebellion:
  “To me, the rebellion is not an act of defiance… It’s for. It’s for you. It’s just for you. It’s just on you. A joy rebellion is just saying, I choose me.” (39:47)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Holiday reflections, migraines, and self-care: 02:09 – 12:22
• Discovery of “wild” as the word of the year: 13:01 – 20:45
• Letting go of discipline for devotion: 21:02 – 31:58
• Devoted, Truth, and Consciousness revealed: 32:00 – 36:35
• Bliss as the outcome; Joy as the North Star: 36:08 – 37:55
• The Joy Rebellion and invitation to join: 37:08 – end

Tone and Style

Ali speaks with warmth, vulnerability, gentle humor, and a signature infusion of “pocket positivity.” Her tone is both encouraging and rebellious in a loving, life-affirming way—inviting listeners to let go of perfectionism, discipline, and pressure, and to embrace their wild, true selves through loving devotion and joy.

Recap & Call to Action

Ali’s episode is a call to view 2026 not as a project to manage with discipline, but as an invitation to nourish the self, follow your unique path with devotion, and seek joy even in imperfection. Listeners are encouraged to share their own themes or words for the year, join the Joy Rebellion, and remember that “the ripple of joy starts with you.”

“Please do let me know. Come and find me on the socials… The ripple of joy starts with you.” (43:48)