Step Back…..Breathe
Breathe.
That is very hard to do sometimes.
We have fully been thrust into the middle of the Christmas season, work is insane, there are gifts to buy, parties to attend and hold, family to host, meals to cook, school, travel………….OH MY GOD, STOP!
Why do we do this to ourselves?
Hey, I am just as guilty as you. I, in fact, am the first one to say I am not a fan of the holidays because it is so crazy stressful I rarely just get to enjoy them.
I usually feel stretched so thin I just want to crawl in bed, close the drapes and watch episodes of Property Brothers and International House Hunters. I mean, Axe Men, Swamp People and Deadliest Catch.
Anyway. What I want to know is why we do this to ourselves?
Why can we not just take a step back and take a breathe now and then? Reconnect with family, enjoy Christmas for what it is and celebrate the end of a year and the launch of a new one?
If you have reached success in this, share. There are millions of us floating around out here who are just exhausted.
3 Comments on “Step Back…..Breathe”
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Ok, I will share the secret to surviving Christmas with you. First I have to mention the National Lampoon’s solution. “I had a lot of help from Jack Daniels.”
If you go that route, in moderation please. A little goes a long way. A lot will make it worse.
My solution though is to start early. The downside is that a lot of people will criticize you when you are planning for Christmas at the end of October.
The easiest place to start early is shopping. It is also a wise step financially so you can spread out the cost of Christmas a little bit.
I don’t want to be caught dead in a retail store any time on the next 2 weekends. I have some odds and ends left and I will finish those during the week. Every store on the weekend between now and Christmas feels like Toys R Us.
My Christmas season may start early and a lot of people make fun of me, but I am almost completely stress free at this point when it comes to Christmas. There will always be the unavoidable situations that are out of your control, but they cause far fewer problems when you have everything else under control.
So the secret is to start preparing for Christmas as early as you can. I am always thinking about Christmas in advance. I have bought presents as early as January for the next year. I buy Christmas decorations right after Christmas to save money too. And usually in October I start blocking off the calendar so that I don’t plan too much. And don’t be afraid to take a little criticism.
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I agree in part with Chris. Much of the stress can be eliminated with some advance planning. But we have to acknowledge that we’re personally responsible for how we handle the holidays. I think any planning also has to cover what we want to focus on at Christmas. Set our priorities early in conjunction with the rest of our family and decide together how we can achieve them.
What stresses you most? The excessive shopping, the lack of down time, the increased socializing? Decide on realistic ways to sidestep or minimize them. Who says we have to conform to the world’s way of celebrating?
Great feedback friends. My stress always comes from work. It is my busiest season and to pile on with family and such just makes it insane. Like the ideas though…maybe I should start shopping now