Let this be your permission to NOT DO it all this season.
๐ฏ Because...you can have it all without doing it all. ๐ฏ
If one thing I learned about MYSELF and my family these last 3 years, itโs that the slower pace is in many ways more enjoyable for us - all of us.
Iโm not frazzled and stressed, exhausted from heading to a different event every day of the holiday, making sure I have a present for this and a donation for that, and the right sweater for the party.
It rubs off on EVERYONE in my family when I decide to NOT do some things and decrease our stress.
Hereโs what I ask myself: Whatโs the reason behind this, and is there a way to accomplish it that brings more joy and less stress?
For example, whatโs the reason for the family gathering? I bet you wonโt say itโs to show off your cooking skills - that it is for your loved ones to all be together and share time with each other. So if preparing a meal or item is adding stress and no joy, maybe you ask everyone to bring something instead.
Or maybe you turn that chore of baking a pie baking into a fun activity you do with your kiddo (giving yourself enough time to not rush through it, perhaps lowering your expectations about the actual result๐).
An example of MORE joy by doing LESS โก๏ธโก๏ธโก๏ธ
Holiday cards are a good example for me. I used to send them to the printers with my address book and off they went - done - โ - next!
It was something I just had to check off the list. I toyed with not doing them at all, but realized I did derive some JOY from this - but it was from MAKING the card and sharing with those people I actually wanted to send a message to. I wanted to feel that connection to those I was sending to.
I got to look through pictures from the entire year and travel down memory lane and just relive so many great memories. Even though I ended up selecting most from our family photo shoot ๐ which I also currently do every year because I LOVE the having photos of the kiddos at this age.
THATโS what I absolutely loved about the process - THATโS where the joy comes in.
Soโฆ.MY more joy, less stress version = still make the card, order less, send to those who I care to write to and ones I know will adore the kiddo picts as much as I do. And I give myself TIME to enjoy writing and sending them over a few weekendsโฆand my 1st grader even helped this year.
โ I ALSO feel if this isnโt joyful for you, give yourself permission to just NOT do it...at all! โ
Soโฆ whatโs the reason behind the things you have scheduled or DO this holiday and is there a way to accomplish them that brings more joy and less stress?
P.S. In January, I'm offering 10 women a completely free coaching session to help them create the SPACE they crave in their life to have it all.
โญ๏ธ Be more present with their family
โญ๏ธ Gain control of their schedule to feel less rushed
โญ๏ธ Release the guilt of not being able to DO it all
๐ฏ You CAN have it all, you just canโt do it all.๐ฏ
If you are still reading this - I bet you identify with what Iโve been writing about - message me to secure 1 of those 10 spots.
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