Are You Celebrating Life This Christmas?

December is a month of ‘shoulds’….

·         You should have brought your Christmas presents by now

·         You should get the tree up

·         You should go to that Christmas party

·         You should organize your own Christmas party

·         You should get your cards written and mailed

·         You should get together with so’n’so for a drink before Christmas

·         You should get a new outfit (or you should just lose 5 pounds so you can fit into last years)

·         You should get the decorations up, buy new decorations or really, you should be creative and make your own decorations!

·         You should be happy, and merry and cheerful and bright and…

… on and on and on it goes.

So imagine the difference it would make if you were to simply let go all your ‘shoulds’ this December and focus your time and energy instead on those things which genuinely (I repeat "genuinely") brought you a deeper sense of joy and meaning?  What if instead of spending a day out Christmas shopping trying to find 30 ‘perfect’ presents for all those people you love in your life (and some which you don’t really love, but just feel you ‘should’ buy a present for) you spent the day doing something really special with some (or all) of those very same people?

Of course there is nothing wrong with spending a day fighting crowds at the mall buying gifts, decorating your home, entertaining etc IF that is something you genuinely enjoy.  However I invite you to challenge yourself and to ask yourself WHY you are spending your time, your money and your energy doing whatever it is you are going to be doing over the next month or so.

• Who would you really love to spend some more time with?
• What would you like to say no to?
• Who could you extend a word of appreciation or gratitude toward?
• How could you simplify what you are doing (I'm a big fan of Kris Kringle!)?
• Who could you extend some generosity to?
• What could you do differently, either in attitude or action, that would allow you to enjoy more genuine peace and joy this holiday season?  

Too often we get so rapt up in the whole Christmas/Holiday season thing that we lose sight of why we have this season. That is, to celebrate life and the blessings we have in it! You only have to read the headlines to know that there are millions of people all around the world who aren’t in the same position as you when it comes to enjoying a comfortable and safe environment, good health, secure employment, opportunity and prosperity; people who have been ravaged by war and injustice and poverty and experienced tremendous loss and heartache.

Don’t we owe it to those who have so SO much less than us to celebrate and be grateful for all that we do have? 

I certainly believe that it is incumbent upon all of us to rise above all the small stuff that too often undermines our joyfulness and fuels our stressfulness each festive season and reconnect with the things that truly matter to us in life… our family, our friends, our health, our community, our country and the blessings that we have to share with others including those less fortunate than we are.

I know the reality of life is that you have bills to pay, kids to raise, presents to buy, responsibilities to fulfill and, quite likely, your own family "issues" to deal with this festive season. But don’t let all that ‘stuff’ get in the way of you getting back to the very reason the tradition of Christmas* was born in the first place…. to stop, to reflect, to come together and to connect with the miracle of life that you are, that you have and that you share with all those around you.

So before you go back to emptying your inbox, I invite you to make a renewed commitment to living with less ‘shoulds’ and more joy this Christmas.  By embracing gratitude and shifting your focus to all that is good and wonderful in your life it will put the other "stuff’ in perspective and help you to realize that you really are, as the saying goes, “too blessed to be stressed!”

Thanks for taking the time to read this (and feel free to pass it on to others who might enjoy it) and may your holiday season be more special than any before… rich in friendship, in family and in joy.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Please click here for an fun Australian Bush Christmas Greeting!

* For those of other religions, the same applies since all great religions share the same universal beliefs of love, respect, gratitude and service.



 

Margie is co-author of “101 Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2” with John Gray, Richard Carlson, Jack Canfield and other leading experts.

 Her second book “FIND YOUR COURAGE! Unleash your full potential and live the life you really want!” will be available in Spring!

A host of other book recomendations, articles and other resources is available on my website http://www.margiewarrell.com/reading.asp.



Margie speaks and runs workshops with corporations, not for profit organizations and associations on communication, leadership, balance and living with more courage - everyday! To view a short 2 minute online video of Margie speaking live click here.

For more details on topics, upcoming speaking engagement and testimonials please click here. For speaking testimonials please visit www.margiewarrell.com.




Margie Warrell, an Executive & Life Coach, Speaker and Author based in McLean Virginia. Margie works with individuals, teams and organizations to improve communication, develop leadership, and achieve the success and make the difference they are capable of. As a mother of four, Margie has a strong interest in helping professional women develop their innate leadership ability and find the courage to pursue that inspire them - personally and professionally - while leading more rewarding and balanced lives.

For more information please contact:

www.MargieWarrell.com
PO Box 8102, McLean, Virginia, 22106, USA
Phone: (214) 686-4155
E-mail: info@margiewarrell.com