Shifting Perspectives: The Holiday Edition

The holiday season is an emotional powderkeg. It is a time to gather with family – to honor tradition and give thanks. It is a time to toast to the memory of friends and family no longer with us. It is a time for introspection and contemplation.

We look back and we look ahead, and inevitably we ask: Was it a winning year? Was it a losing year? Or was it a year of treading water?

We hope it will be a time for inspiration, giving, generosity, and family. Too often these things get short shrift after stressing out at the mall, dashing from one party to the next, eating too many cocktail sausages, and having too many cocktails to wash them down!

With all the ‘goings on’ of the holiday season, is it any wonder that despite best intentions, our plans for rebirth and renewal may not make it past New Years brunch? So my advice based on years of personal experience is this: KEEP IT SIMPLE!

What are your expectations, and the expectations of those close to you, this holiday season? Are they simple or complex? Will you leave enough time and energy to make meaningful connections with the most special people in your life? 

In our family, we are trying to keep things more simple. Now that the kids are grown up, the holiday season takes on a different spin. While we like the idea of giving and receiving, our focus in more about spending time together. This year we will take a week away with each other on the ski slopes, to make memories that will last a good deal longer than any gift. We will also each support a cause or charity that is  most meaningful to us.

As I reflect on the past year, I feel particularly grateful to have connected with so many interesting people who have inspired me with their stories and passion for the work that they do. We all have an opportunity to inspire the people around us… at home and in the workplace!

So, here are the goals I will be working on in the coming year that I hope will continue to inspire me: 

• Commit only to change you believe is necessary and achievable. If it meets these criteria, tell someone close to you about it and write it down; when you see it… you can believe it and then achieve it.
• Donate time or money to a cause that is near and dear to YOU. It will lift you up and just might help you shift perspective.
• Take Your 30 Minutes every day to re-energize and re-focus… so if you get knocked off balance, you will get right back up again!

All the best for the holidays, and to an inspired and successful 2017!

Meg Soper is a motivational humorist speaker who can help you learn to take on daily stressors, create balance in your life, and laugh along the journey. Get in touch with Meg today!

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