I recently read a newsletter from another motivational speaker who I met at the DC Chapter of the National Speakers Association, Liz Fletcher Brown. Liz came up with a very clever saying about how to spread JOY during the Holiday Season. These are some great tips!
J = Just say “No!” Or maybe it’s time to delegate. Who said you have to do it all yourself?
O = Organize around your priorities. Make sure you carve out time for the most important people and activities in your life.
Y = YOU Don’t forget to make time for yourself. No matter how busy you get, build in some down time. Otherwise you might find yourself too tired to enjoy the holidays.
Let me expand on these because I found myself being a Grinch for a few hours today. Am I the only person who has mood swings at Christmas? Of course not!
We love the holidays, but it’s also a lot of work preparing. So we find ourselves having mood swings – right? I can be festive and happy and singing along with Jingle Bells on the radio. And an hour later if I start focusing on everything I still have to do or thinking about a family relationship that I wish was happier, then poof… before you know it – I am downright grouchy. I know you can relate… Even with my husband helping with some of the Christmas shopping, I am still a little frantic here sprinting to the finish line! The point is, cut yourself some slack and accept that your mood swings are a part of the season.
Have I “Just said No?” Why, yes I have. (Pat on my back). I said no to buying extra gifts for certain people. At some point, I stopped and said, “I think I am done with gift buying now.” And I said no to a couple of holiday parties that were just too far away to drive. And one of my favorite traditions is that most holidays I say no to doing all the cooking. Instead, my teenagers and my husband and I – we all spend a little time in the kitchen getting the holiday brunch and dinner ready together. I love this tradition, because for me it brings JOY to me because I am not doing all the cooking myself. We are in the kitchen together as a family, and I love that. What have you said no to?
To prioritize and help reduce overwhelm – Every year I do my Christmas gift buying for the kids first, then other gifts and sending out Christmas cards second, and then I tell myself if I have time I will do some baking before finishing with planning and a menu and buying groceries for the holiday itself. The problem is I never have time to the baking! But then I was pushed to do baking, because my son is gluten free and his kindergarten classroom is having gingerbread cookies, so I am trying to now make gluten free gingerbread cookies. Last night, I finally made the gingerbread dough but I am out of time in the calendar to actually cut out and bake the cookies. I may just have to re prioritize something tomorrow to get this last thing checked off my list.
I admit to feeling more than a little frazzled, so I may just have to work in a quick trip to the nail salon tomorrow instead of I don’t know what just yet and crash tonight to get a few extra Zzzz’s! And… I hope you take some time for yourself as well. So, you can remain festive and peaceful and not bite someone’s head off on Christmas day! Because you know that would start drama. And we want less drama people. Less Drama. More Success. Let’s finish this season spreading JOY, not drama.
If you need some extra support managing stress and family problems during the holidays, please listen to my Radio Show or call in for advice. Or Contact Us to book an appointment.
