I Am Thankful for Quiet Time
The holiday season is one of the best times to take control of your life. It is easy to become overwhelmed with plans, company, decorating, cooking and just too many people coming and going.
One of the things I have always done… well, not always… but since I came to my senses and realized that my life really is up to me, one of the things I now do is to plan quiet time. It is more essential around the holidays than any other time.
Many of us get so caught up trying to please everyone else that we forget about ourselves. What’s really odd is that almost everyone is in the same boat. You are trying to please everyone. Everyone is trying to please and everyone else. No one is happy. That’s why I have found setting aside an hour or so a day for myself is the greatest gift I can give myself… and everyone else.
First of all, let me say that I have discovered that most of us have a tendency to aim for martyrdom during the holidays. We all want to talk about how much we have to do, how much we have done, and especially how no one understands how much we have to do or appreciates our efforts. While each of us is striving for sympathy as we describe being tied at the stake, everyone else is going to try to engage us in a little story topping. We all have friends like that. You say something about what you had to do during the day and lo and behold, your friend had more to do in less time and with less help.
Well, I let that go a long time back. These are my holidays, too. And, if I can’t make everyone else happy, I may as well enjoy what I do. That may sound selfish, but it isn’t. In fact, it’s one of the best things each of us can do to make the holidays happier for all our friends and family.
Don’t give in to the pressures of pleasing the world. It just isn’t going to happen. So, take a little time for yourself everyday. Take a real breather. Forget about all those obligations. Enjoy an hour or two by yourself reading, relaxing, walking, or meditating. Just take some quiet time for yourself. And, when you get back into the rat race, you will be calmer and ready to face the challenges of the holiday season.
Don’t be afriad to say “no” and don’t overplan. We all want to be everything to everyone and when we are so pressured it is impossible to make even one person happy because you are always thinking of the next thing on the agenda.
Okay, so if this sounded like a lecture… well, maybe we all need one from time to time. Just remember that everything doesn’t have to be perfect and won’t be. It never is. Stop trying to make everyone happy. You can’t. But, with a little quiet time set aside for yourself, at least you won’t get totally stressed out. No one wants to hear a martyr whine throughout the holidays.
I am thankful for the quiet time I set aside for myself each day.
