December 2025 - Get a Grip!

It's that crazy time of year where we all spin around like whirling dervishes and tell everyone how busy and stressed we are - it's a bit of a badge of honour - if you're not present buying, planning your food shops and socially saturated, then what are you actually doing?!

Everyone asks "are you ready for Christmas" and you get the two camps of people - those who have been ready since November 1st and those who are in complete denial that it is coming.

But what is actually coming... another day?!

Yes, if you celebrate, then it's nice to give a gift to those you care about, it's nice to have a festive meal and have some time off work (if you can) but why on earth do we CHOOSE to pile so much onto our selves... and then COMPLAIN about it!

It's the best, and of course a very seasonal, example of the way humans tend to try so hard to control the things they can't, and neglect to control the things that they actually can.

All you can control is yourself - that is it - your behaviour, your thoughts, and to some extent your feelings. You can choose how you interpret things, how you respond to things and what you decide is important.

So, with Christmas as an example, as yourself these two questions:

🎅🏼 What are you worried, or complaining about?

🎅🏼 How can you make it different?

With the second question, consider how you have reached this place- for example if you have too many people to buy presents for and you are now concerned about the cost, or how you are going to find the time to do it, then consider how the situation arose.

Sometimes it builds up over the years, and an expectation develops, sometimes something has happened so you have less resource to spend money or go shopping. So, instead of worrying, beating yourself up and complaining, consider what you can actually do now:

🎅🏼 Reset expectations

🎅🏼 Buy fewer gifts

🎅🏼 Buy less expensive gifts

🎅🏼 Simplify and give everyone the same, or something easy

You often have more control than you think, you just need some help to see the wood for the trees - the first step is recognising that you CAN make it different. You don't need the solutions immediately - just a belief that there is another way if you actually want it of course 🤣

If you would like more ways to get control this Christmas then you can join the Virtual Advent Calendar for just £18- with daily prompts and quick activities to lessen the load. Just drop me an email.

Or for free, you can join the Facebook group and enjoy the daily Advent posts which are keeping us calm this season.