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New Year Resolutions That Stick

12/26/2012 By Nancy Borg With 3 comments

The holiday’s may be over, but its afterglow is all abounding.  Our bellies are full and our hearts are grateful.  But we still have one more party to hurdle…  ushering in the New Year.  Time to reflect, evaluate, and perhaps change.

But do your New Year’s Resolutions seem redundant year after year? Something like; eat healthier? Lose weight? Join a gym? Save more money? Give up all your bad habits?

As if our lives aren’t stressful enough, why must we conclude the year with an endless list of personal promises and lofty goals that are unlikely to be all fulfilled?

Granted, it serves us good to at least write a list of what we hope to accomplish, but who really needs the added pressure of such a dubious pledge?  I’m all for reflection and resolution, but doable trumps all.

We all have good intentions of course, but if we’re finding ourselves reaching for repetitive goals every year, perhaps we should tailor them to be more practical.  And maybe, just maybe, we’re throwing too many ideas into the pot.  Beginning a brand new calendar year can be motivating and yet tempting to re-invent ourselves. 

It is improbable that we can fix everything that is lacking in ourselves in one year.

Too often, this is why New Year resolutions fail. Don’t set yourself up for defeat.  Avoid making such a long list of impossible dreams.  Look to manage stress this year, not create more.  It’s a great time to focus on all facets of your life; personal, family, business, etc. and evaluate it thoughtfully.

Prioritize your goals and go after the important ones.  Realize what did not work so well this past year and make the necessary improvements.  Better to do one thing well, than a lot of mediocre.

Or…

STOP making specific resolutions altogether.  Simply start living a better life by just doing more.

Here’s some easy ways to start;

  • Keep learning more
  • Be kind-er than you were last year
  • Be more grateful for what you have
  • Live a healthi-er life than you did last year
  • Smile more
  • Laugh often
  • Love more
  • Be more positive

 

If this sounds a bit cliche, don’t overlook the significance of these simple and pleasurable objectives.  They are attainable. You can of course opt out of any of these, and find your own creative ways to make life better than it was last year.

An overall positive outlook is a great instigator for productive change, and that attitude alone, will inspire you to get closer to your aspirations.  If nothing else, striving to be more organized  (sorry, couldn’t resist) will provide you with the focus you need to affect this change.

Happy New Year to all! Rejuvenate. Time to turn the page.  How are you going to make this next year better?

 

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The Key to Smart Holiday Shopping

12/18/2012 By Nancy Borg With no comments yet

So much to do with so little time? On a limited budget with an endless gift list? Regardless of income, purchasing holiday gifts can be doable and less stressful if you exercise effective time-management.  Things change from year to year, but the one thing that should remain as a standard imperative is organizing your holiday goals.

Whether it be party planningor gift shopping, making lists and committing to them is still one of the best ways to focus during a harried holiday season.   Don’t leave home without it!

Shopping any retail store at this time of year can be overwhelming. The sensory overload sucks you in; the twinkling lights, ringing bells, and piped in Xmas songs resounding everywhere are intoxicating.  This is designed to overwhelm you and divert you away from any real focus.  Intentional for the unprepared consumer.

At first, the holiday music does exude a certain welcomed measure of glee. I admit that it puts me in a good mood, but after continuous weeks of shopping, the incessant melodies can become unnerving. (It’s not just me, I hear this from the salespeople that have to endure it all day!) But it works like magic. It lures the crowds and feeds the frenzy.

Warning: If you have don’t have a specific person in mind on a list, you will find yourself roaming aimlessly for hours and most probably exit, confused, distraught, and empty-handed.

Go home, make a list. Jot down the friends, family, etc. for whom you need to buy gifts for, estimate how much you’re going to spend for each, and carry it with you so you can refer to it while shopping.  Have an agenda and destination in mind (on paper, or on a smart phone) before you go shopping.

This may sound unnecessarily elementary, but without a list, you can get easily distracted and side-tracked and perhaps be in danger of buying something you don’t need. If you stay on task, you won’t be shocked when the credit card bills arrive because YOU managed it.

Being prepared and organized will guide you and prevent you from getting in over your head. This ought to be a joyful time, so do your best to make it so. Make it a joy, not a job. Be merry, not stressed.

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What Everbody’s Thinking This Holiday Season

12/16/2012 By Nancy Borg With no comments yet

In light of Hurricane Sandy and the recent massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, I think we are all struggling with being jolly. There are families overcome with unimaginable grief while others are immersed in holiday shopping. How can we wrap our minds around this?  We yearn to feel cheerful while partaking in the holiday spirit, and yet many of us find it difficult to make sense of it all.

We’ve watched the victim’s families gather as one, relying on their respective faiths to get them through.  We cannot pretend to understand how they feel, yet our hearts are breaking too.  Our prayers and thoughts can support, but helping them move on from this? How can they?

For those families that are fortunate to have other children spared from the shooting, they will go on.  They must.  They are strong. We hope our prayers console their pain. And for the rest of us shocked by the tragedy, we have all been touched in some way.  It’s every parent’s nightmare, but it is also any person’s nightmare.

As we celebrate this holiday season, we have every more reason to be grateful for our children and family members that we love.  The focus of the holiday has now shifted.  The hugs and kisses are the only gifts that matter.

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Are You Too Busy For Your Own Good?

12/13/2012 By Nancy Borg With 1 comment

Everybody’s busy.  Who do you know that is not busy?  It’s the new normal.  Just ask anyone, “how are you?” and I’ll bet they’ll reply with a “good,” and add a boastful “busy.” It has become an aspired status that implies heightened productivity and success.  But we must pay attention to our individual capacities and be mindful when we reach our max. Too busy can be counterproductive and unhealthy.

Especially this time of year, we all have so much on our plates.  As if we had any extra time, the holidays just wring us dry of whatever spare time we might have.  But take note…there is good busy and bad busy.

The good busy is immersing yourself in the holiday festivities in a healthy way.  Work hard, play hard, shop smart.  Finding the balance between the every day and the added holiday to do’s, and finding the joy in the busy. Embracing the spirit of the holiday and not getting caught up in the consumer mania is easier for some more than others. The good busy people are able to resist the romance of over -acquiring. Staying focused helps them buy practical, buy less, and reduce the overwhelming holiday stress. They are enjoying the holiday frenzy.

Now for the bad busy.  We all are busy with our  jobs and/or just normal daily responsibilities.  No need to drown yourself in work commitment, holiday shopping, and operate in full throttle 24/7.  We are fragile.  Indeed, we are stressed, pressed for time, and overwhelmed, but we cannot be our best selves if we are constantly pushing the envelope.

In truth, being a workaholic and a shopaholic can prove to be fruitless, exhausting, and lead to burn-out. With the additional holiday pressure to get everything on your list done, you can easily drown in overwhelm and get caught up in a bad busy cycle.

What if I told you that if you stopped being so busy for a minute and relinquished a bit more more time to organize and manage your lifestyle better, you’d actually have MORE time? 

Here’s some helpful tips to reduce the bad busy;

  • Simply make a list of all the things you have to do, but then review the list again.  Now check off the things that only YOU have to do and delegate the rest. Figure out how to cut out a step. Do those things you love to do, and get help with the things you hate to do.
  • No need to spend the time or money on expensive wrapping paper.  Have the store wrap for you, or use shopping bags and stuff them with tissue paper.  Use stick-on labels instead of attaching gift cards. A huge time saver.
  • Simplify the complicated.  If possible, stay out of the stores and shop on-line. Avoid the long lines. They only add anxiety.
  • Don’t struggle with the “perfect” gift.  Buy gift cards.  They are always appreciated and they eliminate returns.
  • Buy clutter free gifts.  They are the most precious of all. Give the gift of time. Buy concert tickets, dinners, dance lessons, or spa treatments.  Be creative with your “love” gifts. They need not be expensive, just thoughtful.
  • Buy baked goods this year or store bought food, if this is too stressful for you.  Don’t feel guilty about it, your holidays will not be less happy.  Focus on the celebration with family and friends.
  • Forgive yourself if you didn’t have the time to send out holiday cards.  Don’t stress about it, let it go. It’s not the worse thing in the world. Maybe next year.

 

These are all small changes you can make to free up some more time to have fun!  Remember, “done is better than perfect!”

If you can’t enjoy this festive time, what’s the point? Now that you’ve  got a minute…Come join the conversation.  Are you good busy or bad busy?

 

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