When Did Christmas Become Something You Check Off The List?

Christmas is officially 9 days away, but who’s counting?

Each year the holiday season brings with it visions of cozy fires, parties and other festive events. It all sounds wonderful as you add one thing after another to your calendar.

Eventually there is a tipping point, though, and the whole thing turns into a never-ending checklist:

• Stress over what to get people – check
• Buy presents – check
• Try to find a picture worthy of a holiday card – check
• Spend 45 minutes picking a card template – check
• Decorate tree – check
• Bake cookies – check
• Schedule extra gym time to work off said cookies – check
• Attend party – check
• Survive Christmas Eve and Christmas Day – check

You get the idea.

Pretty soon you are limping your way to December 26th thinking the best part of the season might be a long winters nap.

It’s time to put the cheer back in the holiday season.

It’s time to flip your mindset.

You might be thinking: it’s just part of life, why try to change it, just power through. But have you ever heard the phrase “how you do one thing is how you do everything”?

It applies here:

• If you are running from one thing to another, checking them off the list and not paying attention to what is going on around you, you are missing out on opportunities for fun. The same thing happens in your business. What opportunities are you missing there because you are not paying attention?
• As you start shutting down because you are overwhelmed you are also shutting yourself off from the flow of your business. It’s the same as when you get busy working and get stressed out about getting it all done. Pretty soon you start to think that you can’t handle it all and push things away physically and energetically.

So how do you shift your mindset to get things done, enjoy the process and welcome more success?

• Breathe – When we get stressed our breathing gets shorter and shallower, which causes more stress in the body. So take some deep breaths and feel your shoulders come down from your ears.
• Drink more water and get more sleep – This one may seem overly simple too, but all of those late nights and cocktails can affect you mentally as well as physically. I’m all for a good party and extra glass of wine, but make sure you balance it out.
• Find other ways to do things – Maybe you can shop online for 30 minutes rather than 3 hours of running around from store to store. It’s the same when you get busy and overwhelmed with your business. The secret in getting it done is finding other ways and knowing how to get help.
• Know when to say no – No matter how fast or efficient you are, you can’t get it all done. So learn to say no. It’s better to do fewer things, enjoy them and get something out of them, than to turn yourself into a tornado whirling from one thing to another.
• Give yourself grace – There is a chance you will not get it all done. Your job is to get the right things done. And be flexible on your timeframes. (Like this post that was supposed to go out last Friday, but is going out today, Tuesday.)

If some of this sounds easier said than done here are 2 great opportunities to help you out:

#1 Back by popular demand: Bullet Proof Your 2015 Business Plan, January edition. We had an amazing turn out and response to the December class that I am holding it again in January in case you missed it. Click here for more information and to register.

#2 Mindset ~ Marketing ~ Momentum Exclusive Mentorship group. I am super excited about this one! It’s something that I have been wanting to do for a while now. There are only 8 spots available and 3 are already taken, so reserve your spot right away. Click here for more information. It’s going to be amazing!

To your success!
Nicole