While most of us can boast of very busy schedules year round, the holiday season is even worse. There are pressures coming from all sides, end of the year deadlines at work, holiday parties, the pressure to find the perfect gift for everyone in your life, family obligations, traffic…the list could go on and on.
Rather than putting our heads down this holiday season and plowing through it let’s try something different. Let’s slow it down, let’s take some time to enjoy it, revel in it and actually be merry!
How do we do this?
The Intentional Yes
Rather than saying yes to every request or party invitation let’s stop and think about whether or not we really want or need to say yes. We need to be intentional with our yes’s!
Three things we can do that will help determine whether or not we should say yes
- What’s my motivation for saying yes?
- Am I saying yes because this is something I really want to do, something I’m passionate about and feel called to do or am I saying yes out of guilt or obligation?
- Save your Intentional Yes for the things that you feel called to called to do, the things that you are passionate about and gifted for
- Challenge faulty self-talk
- If our self-talk is guilty us into doing things we don’t want or need to do or is telling us untrue, unhelpful or unrealistic beliefs, rather than accept those, we need to challenge them
- Keep a list of what you are already saying yes to
- It’s much easier for us to keep a list of things we say no to or negatives but much harder to remember positives. You are already saying yes to alot, make a list of those things and keep it with you as a reminder of all you are already committed to doing
When we use the intentional yes we get to experience some wonderful benefits!
- Priorities sta
y priorities - We are happier & healthier
- Our yes is out of joy not obligation
- People learn to take responsibility for themselves
Consider doing something different this holiday season, rather than saying yes to every request and ending up exhausted and resentful, practice these steps and be intentional with your yes’s!
