Dec 30, 2019
Are you remembering the basics?
Are you remembering to do the basics of what makes you feel good?
The festive period is a funny time of year for so many reasons. We’ve had Christmas now but we’re still ‘in’ it!
We’ve probably still got a lot going on and plans to make for New Year.
I personally love the festive season but I also know I can struggle if i’m not careful, as I know MANY other people do.
By this time of the year I’m in need of a BREAK and I know so many of you can relate because i’ve talked to lots of you about it!
There’s just something about it that makes it feel like a bit of an energy suck.
You’ve got to wrap the presents, sort your year end financials, work out what went right and what didn’t. What you want for next year. Tie up loose ends, get the Christmas cards out, tie up any client work so you can have a proper break, probably still do work in between Xmas day and New Years, do the shopping, wrap the presents, do the socialising...phewf...it can be a lot!
That’s not even to mention people who are lonely or struggle with the festive season because of losses, strained relationships, divorce or anything else along those lines!
It can be tough for various reasons.
There CAN also be a lot of fun to be had too.
The drinks, the mulled wine, the crackers, the presents, an excuse to see loved ones, the festive cheer, ELF, HAPPY NEW YEAR! All that jazz!
But the funny thing that I see with this time of year is our good habits often seem to go out the window a little bit.
We forget to do the things that we know make us feel good (the journaling, the morning routine, the exercise, eating well, drinking plenty of water etc), do more of the things that make us feel bad (the booze, the immense amount of pigs in blankets, the late nights)...and then wonder why we’re feeling like it’s all a bit of a struggle and we’re exhausted.
We wait and say, i’ll pick it up again in January. This month’s a write off.
Don’t get me wrong, I'm not for one second saying don’t have fun. It’s a time to be jolly after all!
What i’m saying is try to keep hold of some of the things you know make you feel good so you can protect yourself and minimise the impact.
AND, importantly, be able to create awareness of how you’re feeling so you don’t think you’ve gone bonkers or feel like you want to quit your business and like there’s something wrong with you.
This time of year when we start to feel tired and exhausted it’s super easy for us to feel like it’s ‘us’. Like there’s something ‘wrong’.
Shift the focus. It’s easy to focus on the things we HAVEN’T achieved when we’re approaching the end of the year. Really easy, we’re wired for a negativity bias.
So, shift it back to all the amazing things you HAVE done. Ask a few people if you’re struggling, other people tend to remember more than you (that’s why I LOVE keeping track and reflecting every month and year so I remind myself)
But also, ask WHY you haven’t achieved all of the things you wanted to.
What got in your way this time?
Where can you tweak things to make sure it doesn’t happen for next year?
What do you want more of and less of for the year ahead?
What are the 3 big things you want to achieve in the next year?
Start shifting the focus towards all the things you CAN do, where you can take responsibility and understand that you have the control and the power to change anything you want.
The BIGGEST help this time of year is gratitude.
Wherever you are, with whoever you are what can you do to shift your state to one of gratitude?
If you’re dealing with difficult dynamics and relationships how can you make sure YOU show up as the best version of you?
That’s what you have control over, how YOU show up.
Other people tend to fall in line, we’re always unconsciously reacting to assumptions, deletions and distortions. If there are certain topics that you know are going to wind you up how can you shift away from them? Most people love talking about themselves so for me, if there's a subject I don’t want to enter into with certain people, I just ask them a question about them.
The person in control of the conversation is usually the one asking the questions!
So, what positive habits can you pick back up RIGHT NOW without waiting, or writing any time off?
How can you shift your focus to one of gratitude?
How can you shift your focus to what you have control over, to what you want!
Shift your focus to all the progress you’ve made!
What changes do you want to make?
This is going to be your year my friend. Don’t let anything get in the way!
If you know that now is the time to start changing things for yourself and want to explore this further, have any questions or want some accountability to make sure you’re doing the things you need to then please book in a free discovery call so we can see what needs to happen to get you from where you’re at right now, to the successful business owner you know you can be!!
Fx