The end-of-year madness is upon us.
That time when so. many. things. get added to our plates.
Extra grocery shopping for family meals, cookie exchanges, and donating to the food bank.
Extra errands to pick up Christmas gifts, teacher gifts, holiday outfits and new decorations.
Extra events like class parties, company parties, and neighborhood parties.
And all are added into the span of about 50 days of our calendars.
No wonder we end up Grinch's instead of blissfully celebratory!
I have worked hard over the years to learn just what will keep this time of year from completely derailing my life. I am still a work in progress, but here's what I consider when I want to keep the Grinch within at bay:
1. It starts with a desire to change. Do you really want to change how you do things or do you just wish everything would change on it's own? It's an important question. Change is not easy and requires a determined effort. So, how much do you desire things to be different? Enough to stop doing what you have always done and try something new?
2. Next, identify what, exactly, needs to change. What is so chaotic about your holiday season? Is it the number of activities and events you say yes to? Is it the exorbitant spending? Is it the perfect holiday image in your head? Until you identify exactly what needs to change, you will get stuck in indecision and revert back to old patterns.
3. Then, identify what you want instead. What do you want to be different this holiday season? Crafting a vision of what you do want is necessary in determining specific changes to make so that you create something new.
4. Last, create action steps. How do you get from where you are today to what you want? You take the next best step you can think of, look around, and then determine the next step after that. Repeat until you get where you want.
So, what does this look like in real life?
Several years ago my holiday season was a blur. I was exhausted, overwhelmed and in no mood to celebrate anything. That bothered me so much that change was worth the effort (#1). What needed to change was my unhealthy lifestyle. I have found quality sleep, good nutrition, and exercise are essential to my well-being and memory (#2). What I want is to be present and energized in all my holiday interactions (#3). To get there I began detoxing on foods not healthy for my body, choosing to fall asleep focusing on what went right that day instead of all that still needed to be done, going to bed and getting up at the same time every day, and making decompression time part of my daily routine each day (#4). The result has been a less chaotic me as I enter the holiday season which in turn has created holiday seasons I enjoy, am present for, and remember.
How could your holiday season be different if you committed to this process yourself?
Take a moment to imagine the possibility. Do you desire something different than what you have had in the past enough to change? Can you isolate one or two things to start with and identify what you want those areas to look like instead? Once you do, what's one next best step you can take to get you there?
Please know if you need help with this process that I am here for you. I'd love to chat and help you create some action steps. Just give me a call. It's free and could definitely help you keep your inner Grinch at bay this holiday season.
May you gain the clarity and courage you need to make the necessary changes that keep your inner Grinch at bay this holiday season!