Holiday stress is no pleasure to give or receive
It's that time of the year when things get really busy. We find ourselves juggling both our overloaded business schedules as well as our personal calendars. There is an excess of work to do, people to meet, parties to attend, gifts to buy and decorating to do at both business and home.
Keeping in good physical, mental and emotional shape is what will see us through the holiday season. And to stay in great shape, we will need to maintain balance.
I can tell you first-hand that getting thrown off balance can be easy. See if you can relate to the following story.
Every year at this time I meet with a couple of girlfriends for our annual holiday brunch. We get together to talk about what we have done through the year, what we plan for the coming year and just to have fun and celebrate the coming holidays.
Both of my friends, Gail and Marta, are very picky about restaurants, so I always let them select where we are to meet.
But this year, Marta said that she and Gail agreed that I should choose the restaurant for a change.
I had no particular preference and tried to pass the selection back on them. My insistence didn't work. So, I selected a restaurant that I thought we would all enjoy.
Saturday morning as I was preparing to leave the house for the restaurant, Marta called and said she had talked to Gail and they both had heard that the restaurant I had chosen was no longer in business.
I assured Marta that I had eaten there a few days before and it was still in business. We hung up. A few minutes later Gail called and said that she had spoken to Marta and they were concerned that parking would be difficult. I assured Gail that we would have no problems parking. I continued preparing to leave.
Marta called back to say that she didn't think that the restaurant took credit cards and she had to pay with her credit card so she could maintain good records. At the same time that I was explaining to Marta that the restaurant would accept her credit card, Gail was ringing my cellphone to ask if I knew whether the restaurant used real or artificial maple syrup. I suggested that she bring her own bottle just in case.
My mind spinning with thoughts of the restaurant's credit card policy, maple syrup and the possibility of limited parking, I walked to the garage, got into the car and reached into my pocket only to realize that I had forgotten to take the keys.
No problem I thought, I never lock the door that leads from the kitchen to the garage, I'll just go back in and pick up my keys. Wrong! The door was locked.
After waiting 45 minutes for my husband to return from the gym and let me back into the house, I was able to get going on my journey.
I called Gail and Marta on my cellphone to tell them that I would be late and why. Marta said that we should look at my misfortune as some kind of sign to go to another restaurant. By then I was pretty well fed up and insisted that we will meet at the place I had selected.
Well, I finally arrived, and things weren't any better. Both Marta and Gail had gotten on some diet that calls for "real" food and questioned the poor waitress about everything on the menu.
By this time I had a headache that over a couple of days turned into the sniffles and finally an unbelievable cold and earache. Could all of this have come from my Saturday outing with my girlfriends? Yes, says my doctor, and the main culprit is stress.
Stress is what we have to avoid as best we can at all times. However, during the holiday season, stress can rear its head more easily and with greater force.
I probably would have been able to weather the outing with my friends except I had just returned from a three-day trip that took me through three overcrowded airports and extremely long lines, plus I had several client deadlines to meet within hours after my return. Then there was the preparation for Thanksgiving. During Thanksgiving dinner my daughter told me that she always wanted to go shopping on Black Friday — something neither of us had ever done — and so that next day we spent six hours going from store to store. I had looked forward to a relaxing brunch with friends that actually turned into a headache. Any one of these events can spell S-T-R-E-S-S in large letters.
Be on the lookout this holiday season for those little nagging things that can turn in unnecessary stress. Usually this is the time of year that our thoughts and attention turn to doing and being all things to everyone except ourselves. Take care of yourself first and all else will fall into place.
Keeping in good physical, mental and emotional shape is what will see us through the holiday season. And to stay in great shape, we will need to maintain balance.
I can tell you first-hand that getting thrown off balance can be easy. See if you can relate to the following story.
Every year at this time I meet with a couple of girlfriends for our annual holiday brunch. We get together to talk about what we have done through the year, what we plan for the coming year and just to have fun and celebrate the coming holidays.
Both of my friends, Gail and Marta, are very picky about restaurants, so I always let them select where we are to meet.
But this year, Marta said that she and Gail agreed that I should choose the restaurant for a change.
I had no particular preference and tried to pass the selection back on them. My insistence didn't work. So, I selected a restaurant that I thought we would all enjoy.
Saturday morning as I was preparing to leave the house for the restaurant, Marta called and said she had talked to Gail and they both had heard that the restaurant I had chosen was no longer in business.
I assured Marta that I had eaten there a few days before and it was still in business. We hung up. A few minutes later Gail called and said that she had spoken to Marta and they were concerned that parking would be difficult. I assured Gail that we would have no problems parking. I continued preparing to leave.
Marta called back to say that she didn't think that the restaurant took credit cards and she had to pay with her credit card so she could maintain good records. At the same time that I was explaining to Marta that the restaurant would accept her credit card, Gail was ringing my cellphone to ask if I knew whether the restaurant used real or artificial maple syrup. I suggested that she bring her own bottle just in case.
My mind spinning with thoughts of the restaurant's credit card policy, maple syrup and the possibility of limited parking, I walked to the garage, got into the car and reached into my pocket only to realize that I had forgotten to take the keys.
No problem I thought, I never lock the door that leads from the kitchen to the garage, I'll just go back in and pick up my keys. Wrong! The door was locked.
After waiting 45 minutes for my husband to return from the gym and let me back into the house, I was able to get going on my journey.
I called Gail and Marta on my cellphone to tell them that I would be late and why. Marta said that we should look at my misfortune as some kind of sign to go to another restaurant. By then I was pretty well fed up and insisted that we will meet at the place I had selected.
Well, I finally arrived, and things weren't any better. Both Marta and Gail had gotten on some diet that calls for "real" food and questioned the poor waitress about everything on the menu.
By this time I had a headache that over a couple of days turned into the sniffles and finally an unbelievable cold and earache. Could all of this have come from my Saturday outing with my girlfriends? Yes, says my doctor, and the main culprit is stress.
Stress is what we have to avoid as best we can at all times. However, during the holiday season, stress can rear its head more easily and with greater force.
I probably would have been able to weather the outing with my friends except I had just returned from a three-day trip that took me through three overcrowded airports and extremely long lines, plus I had several client deadlines to meet within hours after my return. Then there was the preparation for Thanksgiving. During Thanksgiving dinner my daughter told me that she always wanted to go shopping on Black Friday — something neither of us had ever done — and so that next day we spent six hours going from store to store. I had looked forward to a relaxing brunch with friends that actually turned into a headache. Any one of these events can spell S-T-R-E-S-S in large letters.
Be on the lookout this holiday season for those little nagging things that can turn in unnecessary stress. Usually this is the time of year that our thoughts and attention turn to doing and being all things to everyone except ourselves. Take care of yourself first and all else will fall into place.
posted by Sessilia at 1:36 PM
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