In This Issue...
Holiday Greetings...
The holidays are upon us! Does it make your heart ring with joy or panic? I think we all dream of the season being merry and bright, rather than scary with fright! I want to share with you my Top Ten Tips for creating the calm and peaceful holidays we all crave and deserve!
- PLAN TO BE ORGANIZED!
We've all heard it said that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. The time you spending planning will be the best gift you can give yourself this year. Begin by making a list of all the things you would like to do to make the season perfect. Then, do a reality check and take about half of them off. Why is it we put so much pressure on ourselves to "do it all?" Accepting that we can only do what we can do and then choosing the things that really make a difference helps us focus on our REAL goals. Take a half hour, right now, and make that list! Then look over the list and ask yourself these questions?
- Is this something I love to do?
- Is this something my friends or family truly receive benefit from?
- Is this tradition still serving a worthwhile purpose?
- Does this activity bring peace or stress?
- Will this activity make a difference to someone I care about?
- Is this something I do just because someone told me I "should?"
- Do I have time to do this without giving up something more important?
- When I look back on holiday memories, will this be something to bring joy?
- Can I afford the time, money and energy required for this activity?
- SIMPLIFY
Consider the ways you can simplify the things you do.
- Can I do it early in the season?
- Do I really need to decorate every room in the house?
- Share the responsibilities-and accept the efforts put towards them.
- What will happen if I DO NOT do this? Can I live with the consequences?
- Plan simple meals.
- Learn to say "no" to things that do not enhance your life or your family's.
- Shrink your card and/or gift list. Consider every name!
Remember that everything you do will need time, energy and/or money. Every time you say "yes" to one thing, you are saying "no" to something else!
- CLUTTER-FREE GIVING
Consider giving gifts that the recipient will love that will not create clutter for them. Does Grandma really need another craft on her wall or does your sister really need a necklace? Remember that the purpose of giving a gift is to express love and gratitude, and to offer something your loved one will REALLY appreciate and enjoy.
Gift certificates are always a good choice. You can make them yourself to offer a special day together, a free "backrub," dog-walking, or a homemade meal. Or purchase them for a dinner, movie or service your receiver will appreciate and enjoy. Consider their hobbies, their location, their current financial situation and their time. What starving college student wouldn't enjoy an evening out for dinner or a movie? Gift certificates for downloadable music or books are also a great idea!
- DON'T OVERSPEND
Is there anything worse than the "month-after" agony of credit card bills? Begin with the end in mind-plan to stay within a set budget and to make every expense fit within it. I have found a great tool to help you keep track of everyone and everything on your list for the holidays. It is a free service and makes keeping track of each item simple-AND if you will use it, you will see purchase-by-purchase whether you are staying within your budget.
The link for the FREE service is https://myholidaygiftplanners.com/index.php. You can set up a simple spreadsheet on your own, also, but this service has already done the work!!! Why re-invent the wheel?
- PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST
Remember the reason for the season! Think about your REAL priorities. No one else can tell you what those are. If, for you, your family is a priority, consider whether or not you are spending your time, money and energy for their benefit. Or, are you doing things to be "lookin' good?" Sometimes a little honest introspection like this shows us things we've never even considered!
- TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF
This is a topic about which I have become truly passionate. I have watched friends and family members, who are very loving and caring, neglect their own self-care to the point that they are no longer able to offer the care and service to those they love! Taking care of one's needs is the way for creating balance! If there were a continuum with extreme selfishness on one end and extreme sacrificing your human needs for others' sake on the other end, nurturing yourself would be right in the middle-making it possible for you to be strong and healthy-thereby being a force for good in the lives of others. It is required for keeping up your strength, your motivation and resolve, your inner resources for continuing to give to your partner, your family and others you care for. Exercise, eat well and regularly, sleep enough and think happy thoughts!!!
- DETERMINE WHEN GOOD ENOUGH IS GOOD ENOUGH
This could be its own article!!! For anyone who struggles with a degree of perfectionism, you know it can be a curse in many ways. Perfectionism can keep you from starting a project (for fear of not doing it "correctly" or not finishing it soon enough). It can keep you from trying new things, from being organized and from saying "no" when good sense would say to do that. It can even destroy relationships, because either you or the other person can never be good enough or your efforts or theirs are never accepted as "OK." Learn to know what good enough is truly good enough. Brain surgery should be done perfectly; decorating can be "good enough."
- MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Does your being on the earth make a difference to someone? If you aren't sure it does, it's time for you to make changes. Your making a difference is up to you. One of my favorite sayings is that, "a perfect day is one in which you do something for which you will never be thanked." The small things we do in a moment can change someone else's life for an hour or a lifetime. Find a SIMPLE way to be a positive influence to someone else-anything from a smile to a financial gift. Whatever you choose to do that is a good thing will also change you!
- BREATHE
Literally, breathe! Stop, hold still, listen to your heart, and breathe! Slowly, deeply, and with purpose! Breath is life-invite more of it into yourself! Be present to being alive!
- EXPRESS GRATITUDE
Those things we dwell on grow. If we have gratitude in our hearts and minds, it will expand to fill our lives with more recognition of our blessings and more room to accept new, wonderful things. Practice being grateful and expressing gratitude. There is ALWAYS something to appreciate. Look for it, acknowledge it, embrace it and grow it! Be grateful for life, for health, for opportunity to grow, for challenges to overcome, for possibility!
It is my wish for you to enjoy this beautiful time of year! Do what you can-and don't worry about the things you cannot. Yet, choose to do something wonderful with your time and energy. As Earl Nightingale said, "Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use."
Notes from Laura...
Laura Lawrence,
Professional Organizer
blog: http://harmonywithin.wordpress.com/
website: www.harmonywithin.com
phone: 801-376-3367
