Last week I shared with you that I yanked my boot off quickly and harshly and ding’ed my butt. This week I’ve been dealing with poor sleep and my migraines are making a comeback. The timing couldn’t be worse. Between year-end planning, paying bills, preparing for next year, getting online courses and programs ready to roll out, plus the usual workload…my team, including me, are buckling under the pressure.
I could write all day long about how we need to do this n’ that and take time out for ourselves—but the truth is, this is always a busy time of the year.
In the midst of it all, I have been asked to do a radio interview with Sportstownchicago.com. Yes, that’s right. A sports radio show by guys for guys told me I was voted as their favorite guest and they want me back on air for their Christmas show.
The topic of the show: How to make sure that men don’t suck Happy from Happy Holidays—without having to say Yes DEAR one thousand times.
I laughed at first but then I thought about it… Why does this season make us feel so pressured?
Simple answer: we don’t think about what makes US happy. Instead, we try to find happiness from giving of ourselves to everyone else. When we don’t “nail it” and we buy the wrong gift, or our intentions are misread, or we don’t respond how we’re expected to, we beat ourselves up and inevitably end up disappointed in ourselves. I read just today the highest suicide rate occurs this time of the year. Yikes! Let’s take a look what we can do.
- Take care of yourself first. Period. When you are down with a migraine or a pulled back muscle, you can’t do anything. Identify what taking care of yourself means for you. Is it a workout, quiet time, or going to the movies? Sprinkle ‘Me’ time into every day. Here is an article I wrote that has some tips for maintaining your balance.
- Schedule more time for your plans even when you think you don’t have any time to spare. Instead of 15 minutes to get there, give yourself 30. Instead of a one-hour lunch meeting, make it two. That way you have more time because your appointments aren’t scheduled too closely and you won’t feel so rushed.
- Take YES off autopilot and more often say: “Not now.” “No, I can’t.” “Sorry, that won’t work for me.” I once heard of a businessman who made a habit of saying no to every request. He learned the people who are serious keep coming back, and the ones who aren’t so serious are not much of a loss.
One more thing. If you’re looking for a great gift that can Fix Your Life and Save Your Sanity, my book Happy Woman Happy World is available on Amazon.com as both paperback and eBook, and you can find the audio book on Audible.
I am signing off now because it’s time for me to have dinner, relax, and watch a movie with my man. It’s Me time. Promise that you will do something along these lines for yourself TODAY!