Hey Everyone,
Late last week, I dropped into a small shop to pick up a gift for a friend of mine, and the woman behind the counter commented that that she was so behind because she had very little Christmas shopping done.
And I realized that everybody I talk to is talking about being behind.
And despite my best efforts, I’ve had a bit of that feeling too.
I mean, I know that being busy, worrying about staying “on track“, and feeling behind is kind of viral this time of year, the feeling just seems to churn through the air around us..
Instead of getting caught up in that feeling though, I’d like us to use it as a reminder to make space for our ourselves and to let our brains relax a little.
Because, really, how are we behind?
What track are we trying to stay on?
How busy do we need to be to feel like we are doing things ‘right’?
Sure, maybe we made a plan and it didn’t work out because life got in the way. That doesn’t mean everything‘s gone wrong. It means we need to adjust our plan a little bit.
But, unless the day we were planning for is already behind us then there’s still time to make those adjustments.
We don’t have to feel bad for not having things done on someone else’s timeline.
If you’re just starting your Christmas shopping/New Year’s planning/end of year reflections/actions related to whatever else you want to get done or celebrate this time of year, that is totally fine.
There’s no inherent virtue in doing all of these things early.
Perhaps it can reduce stress to do some parts of your planning or preparation in advance (this hardly ever feels possible for me so I can’t be sure!)
Since I am going to end up doing things closer to the time of a given event, I have decided that my timeframe helps makes the planning and the preparation part of the celebration.
I know that stores will be busier, and people will be a bit more flustered, but if you factor that in, if you recognize things will take a bit more time or it might be harder to find the things you’re looking for, then there’s nothing wrong with doing things on your own schedule.
There are lots of reasons to do things early.
There are lots of reasons to do them just in time.
Neither approach is better than the other – your schedule has to do with your goals, your own capacity, your own abilities, your stress levels, your finances, your expectations.
If you don’t get too caught up in other people’s schedules or in some sort of mental picture of the ‘perfect’ way to do things then doing things your own way in your own time and course-correcting to accommodate new information is totally fine.
So, no matter how much you have done to prepare, for whatever event lies ahead of you, consider the possibility that you are right on time.
Consider the idea that you are operating on the best schedule you possibly could this year.
Maybe you started with a different plan but but being kind to yourself about where you are right now will be of much more benefit than being mean to yourself about not being somewhere else.
(And trying not to dwell on the difference between the (allegedly!) perfect schedule and your actual schedule can make the whole rigamarole a lot less stressful.)
So, Team, no matter where you are on your to do list and no matter what schedule you are on, I wish you ease and lots and lots of space to take good care of yourself today.
Here’s our movement practice suggestion for today:
And here’s our mindfulness practice suggestion:
