Alacrity — The Joy of Moving Toward Something

"Think of something you genuinely couldn't wait to do — something you showed up for early, prepared, practically buzzing. What made that different from everything else?"

Think of something you genuinely couldn't wait to do — something you showed up for early, prepared, practically buzzing. What made that different from everything else?

That energy — that cheerful, springy eagerness — is alacrity.

Alacrity means brisk and cheerful readiness. It's from the Latin alacritas — liveliness, eagerness — from alacer, meaning lively, brisk. And what sets alacrity apart from similar words like willingness or readiness is that joyful, almost bouncy quality. You're not just ready. You're ready and happy about it. You're going to meet this thing with energy and enthusiasm.

We don't use alacrity enough. It describes something we recognize immediately when we see it — and something we feel in ourselves on our best days. The morning where you spring out of bed because there's something worth doing. The project you come back to after dinner because you genuinely want to, not because you have to. The task completed not just on time but ahead of it, not just adequately but brilliantly, because you were actually lit up by it.

The opposite of alacrity isn't laziness. It's obligation. Dragging yourself to something out of duty, performing it without spirit, delivering without delight. Most of us know that feeling too. And the contrast helps you understand what alacrity actually is: it's the difference between being pushed and being pulled.

Alacrity is pull. It's forward momentum that comes from genuine desire, not external pressure. And here's what's worth knowing: alacrity can be cultivated. Not manufactured — you can't fake the spring in your step. But you can pay attention to what generates it in you, and arrange more of your life around those things.

Because a life with more alacrity is a life lived with more of yourself present.

Here's your question: What's one thing in your life you approach with alacrity — and what would change if you brought even a fraction of that energy to something you've been dreading?