I was at Sacramento’s annual Chalk it Up festival earlier this year and I saw this beautiful piece of art, with a saying I really appreciate. I want to put this out as something new that you may or may not have considered. During this time of year, with Thanksgiving over and the end of year gift-giving holidays approaching, I see many people get overwhelmed by the amount of things there are to do.
There seems to be a mindset that we can get more and more done. And I think this started somewhere at least in my childhood, with an idea that we can “have it all.” I think though, we have to tell ourselves the truth. We cannot have it all. Really – that’s crazy talk. All of it? Maybe we can have it all work. We can have it all be fantastic. We can have it all be fun. But we cannot HAVE it ALL.
Why do I say this to you now? Because now more than ever is the time we have to draw some boundaries, take care of ourselves, say “this is good enough,” not expect so much from ourselves. Many professionals have families, children, people who they love and want to make happy this time of year. There is a great deal of expectation. At this time, it can serve to look at your purpose. What’s your WHY? Why celebrate these holidays? Why buy gifts for people? Tap into your reason and see if maybe you have lost sight of it. My personal WHY is love and connection. My ultimate goal this time of year is to connect with the people I love and that is a LOT of people. My WHY is to have my family feel loved and connected to me as well. When I connect with that purpose, things become simpler – there are a lot of ways I can touch people and make them feel loved. It’s not about DOING a lot, but about BEING present, connected, purposeful. When I think of it this way, I can find the best ways to be present with my clients (whom I love), connected to my friends (whom I adore), loving toward my family (whom I cherish). If they walk away feeling connected and loved, I have done what I set out to do. This may or may not involve me running around, buying things and getting annoyed.
What is your WHY? I bet it’s not to create overwhelm, chaos and an environment where people are tired and cranky. What can you change this year?
Because guess what? You CAN do anything, but you CANNOT do everything. You get to chose – and your purpose will help you.
