Thrive During Holidays

Ever felt overwhelmed during Holidays? Having so many things to do, that winter Holidays are everything… but jolly? Impatiently rushing to get gifts, get the perfect meals, arrange everything and have all your tasks done by the end of the year – all of this can be challenging, to say the least.

You are not the only one in this situation. I, myself, since I returned to Romania, feel that the Holidays are a bit too active from what I was used to in Belgium, where everything was quiet. Maybe too quiet.

How to deal with the Holiday stress and even more than this, how to thrive during these beautiful winter Holidays? Yes, you guessed it: organizing is the key. You know I always recommend it. However, it is not enough. I discovered this by organizing and re-organizing and yes… adding some extra “re” to this action.

But still no! No quiet, not getting things done by mid-December, not having the peace of mind or clarity to let me set up a smooth end for this year and get ready for 2021. It has been a very challenging 2020 for most, therefore I really wanted to finish the year strong, meaning with a great clean mindset.

What is the new technique I recommend during these days?

• Cleaning by removing completely the tasks that are not important. Delete, erase and let go!

It is this easy to gain control over your mind, time and schedule. What I want to guide you next on is how to deal with the *fear* that arises while you perform this action. As you begin to delete the tasks that are not important anymore, as you have other priorities, but you still feel bound to the things that you want to let go of, you may feel anxious. There is this feeling of always being busy. Having something to do at all times. When you get the free time to work on your growth and take your time and schedule to the new level, by having time to take care of yourself too, you are in an unfamiliar ground. As you are used to always have tasks – being busy for the sake of being busy, but not being necessarily productive – your mind will start looking for things to fix, ponder on, create scenarios. Remember that it is your mind’s sole purpose to keep you alive, to keep you safe by doing the same things that you were used to in the past.

Now that you understand that you need to be productive and simply let go completely of all that is not important for your growth, you may want to begin this quite easy exercise:

1. Take 3 minutes to yourself in the morning, when you can be in complete silence.
2. Look at your tasks for the day. Read them twice.
3. Ask yourself this for each task – and remember! Be honest with yourself!

“Is this task really helping me to achieve what I want?”

4. You will find that certain tasks have the answer “no!” to the above question. You may get to let go of half of the list easily!

Happy journaling, erasing unnecessary tasks and most of all, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and have an amazing time with your loved ones!