Unsplash.com – Mountains
‘Tis the season to be jolly! The holiday season brings many opportunities to engage in festive fun and shower friends and family with presents; it seems to begin earlier and earlier every year as Black Friday has now crept into Thursday. Thanksgiving with our family has now taken a backseat to giving thanks by stimulating the economy. Exercising our muscles and our mind plays second fiddle to exercising our spending power and discretionary income so we can buy more stuff. After all, if a mother or father wasn’t available for their child in April or May, they can just make up for it in December with another present.
I suggest that the holiday season offers more than just an opportunity to give and receive presents; it also offers the golden opportunity to give and receive presence. Presence allows us to reflect on the preceding year and evaluate whether we accomplished the goals that we set for ourselves. Presence provides a platform for personal and professional growth. Renowned speaker and friend to EXIT Realty, Richard Flint, reminds us to, “have a presence that is present, even when you are not present;” in other words, to live our lives in such a way that our spirit transcends location. He is asking us to give, love and serve from our own abundance in each and every encounter so our presence remains long after we have left.
Think of the word presence as an acronym and bring some of the following principles into your home this holiday season!
P – Profits are better than wages! Prepare to invest in yourself. If you work on your job, you can make a living. If you work on yourself, you can make a fortune!
R – Reap the rewards of rest. Slow down and reflect on 2015. What worked for you this year and what refinements are necessary for you to create a spectacular 2016?
E – Eliminate self-sabotaging behaviors. They are like a parking brake on your soul, creating unnecessary friction on your personal and professional success.
S – Success does not flow where there is clutter. Organize your physical and emotional space. Create room for greatness to show up!
E – Engage technology in a way that makes sense (and cents). Do not become a slave to email. If you do not learn how to master technology, you’ll be enslaved forever!
N – Never forget that money is an amplifier. It simply makes you more of who you already are!
C – Continue to cultivate an attitude of gratitude. Be grateful for what you have while you continue to create all that you desire!
E – Expect the unexpected. Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Challenges are there to help you become the person you were meant to become. Embrace change, don’t fear it!
As you open your presents this holiday season, remember the importance of presence! It will make 2016 that much sweeter.
Contributor: Dr. Gregg Baron
The statements made in this article have not been evaluated by Health Canada or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. None of the information presented is intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease.
