Simple Wisdom for Living

Spring Cleaning: What Do You Need to Eliminate?

Sheri_LifeCoach — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 02:01:32 +0000

I am convinced that when I let go of what’s not working for me, I become, in that circumstance, all I’m supposed to be. For instance, if I have too many “might-use-it-someday” items in my closets, garage, attic or basement and I de-clutter, it is so liberating for me.

There may be some things in our relationships that need to be de-cluttered as well. This can provide the opportunity for us to experience a simple, more effective way to communicate and connect.

We may communicate our intention to strengthen relationships by simply asking those we care about “how” we might help them as opposed to telling them what they need and what they should do. It can be an awesome gift for someone when we lay aside our agendas and focus on being the one that will give them the opportunity to truly be heard. Listening is truly a low-cost and extremely effective way to invest in others. It empowers people when they know they are heard. They feel respected and valued.

When we choose to eliminate the unnecessary clutter in our lives and relationships we can experience more peace and become less inclined to try to control things that we aren’t responsible to manage. It is those people, things, situations, responsibilities that we cannot or do not have the guarantee of a certain result that tempt us to control, manage and regulate.

Relinquishing our desire to be in the “know” and have all of our plans well-laid, can set us free to experience pleasant surprises and be open to new and valuable insights.

It is my continual prayer that God will remind me to be open to anything but not attached to the point that I become inflexible. When we model positive attitudes and behaviors they can become contagious. Amazingly enough, letting go for us can help others to grow and be stretched in ways they may have never thought to be possible.

Today is our opportunity to choose the path of peace. Life is best served in moderation, whether it’s food, projects, spending, working etc. Pursue the balance and live un-anchored to the stress of things that fill our time but empty our tanks.

Pursuing the Best,
Sheri

Sheri Geyer is a Life Management Coach, Mentor, Writer, Wife & Mom

Perseverance .. Key to Success in Life’s Pursuits

Sheri_LifeCoach — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 00:30:41 +0000

It is quite easy to find reasons, ah hmm, excuses for quitting something that once seemed to be of the utmost importance to us. We may feel tired, or rejected, or judged, or we may be dealing with personal pain. In any of these situations, laying the foundation well is necessary in any pursuit in which we hope to be successful.

Surprisingly, the greatest time of temptation to quit is in the early phases of developing the game plan or the groundwork. Why? Because it appears to be all work and no fun, and perhaps little, if any, compensation. It may be that we have to continue working a “real” job to build a bridge to get to the place to realize the dream that we believe God calls us to.

It’s often easy to find the right things to tell ourselves that will “allow” us to quit. We don’t have to look too far to see the challenges we will face if we make a commitment to see this dream to fruition. Some of the biggest areas we can get hung up on are the things we cannot change, all the while making excuses for not changing the things we are able to make a difference in.

How often have you felt empowered to do something, having ideas coming at you at rocket speed? So many, you barely want to sleep, but instead want to write down and proceed on everything that will lead you to this place of success. Stage two: enter discouragement. We begin to see all the obstacles when we take our eyes off the desired destination. We are tempted to quit because it is just too hard or we don’t have enough money, or so-in-so said it or tried it or whatever.

We echo what our friends are saying, “what was I thinking”? All the while, it is feeling better and easier if we abandon our efforts and resume our life of normal activities. We elect to remain as we were and tell ourselves we are happier now, having tried and failed and we can live more at peace.

Heads up! We don’t fail until we stop trying. Yep, that means when we give up, stop, cease, quit doing or making the effort, we have successfully failed at realizing what we may have hoped to see happen.

Sometimes we may feel a little jealous that someone else pursued where they wanted to be in life and it seemed to fall into place for them like a well-greased gear. Like clockwork. Why them? We ask. Why not us?

Other times, we may want too much too soon. We overextend our time or finances or abilities. Enter: stress trying to manage where we have bitten off more than we are able to chew for the moment. Growing in any facet requires a unique stretching, a building of integrity and ingenuity. It requires levels of flexibility and adaptability. We must be able to bend a little without breaking.

True success doesn’t come easily. It isn’t free of hurdles. It won’t feel good all day, everyday. It will be work and it will take patience and determination, creativity, sacrifice and moving beyond mistakes. It requires failing forward.

It will require changing all you can, accepting all that you can’t and continually seeking God for the wisdom to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Many times we may have to surrender our “agenda”. After we do all we can do, we may have to look to God to show up and do what ONLY He can do.

Carving out the life we want is not for the one who doesn’t have staying power. It will require more of everything than we have ever given before. It will stretch us many times to the point of feeling confused and into seasons that come with many questions and few answers.

All in all, if we keep on working our plan, success will come! The secret?

P E R S E V E R A N C E . That little extra something that wins out over affluence, education, natural ability or even status. It is the thing that separates winners from losers.

It is what the tortoise had over the hare. It is where the rubber meets the road. So, the question isn’t “IF” we can succeed at something, but “HOW” will I succeed at it? How many ways will I find to not give up until I reach the point that defines what I believe to be success for me personally?

When you find the answer, you, my Friend, will have found out just what you are made of? Enjoy the journey of self-discovery! It is the path to the best of life.

Sheri Geyer is a Life Management Coach, Mentor, Writer, Wife & Mom

Time and Chance Happens to All …

Sheri_LifeCoach — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:06:49 +0000

Many times it feels that we’ve missed the boat or the opportunity or the promotion or whatever. We spend days on the island of “if only” thinking and sitting and sitting and thinking about all that woulda, coulda, shoulda been.

This is an empty and bottomless pit of despair. I love the words of Solomon as he wrote that “the race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happens to them all” in Ecclesiastes 9:11.

It’s difficult to relate to the idea that out of failure comes much victory. It seems when we are observing others that every time at bat is a hit, every business decision leads to greater profit and every child they parent grows up to become the starlet or the whiz of Wall Street. Our side of the street seems to host the brown grass, the chipping paint, and the missing shingles.

I continue to learn mostly through the generation of my girls, that we really can’t change a culture anymore than we can change the flow of a river, but we can step into the diversity in our world and actually be changed and empowered to make a difference. The time and chance that we can celebrate is that whatever we have done in the form of a “screw up” is often the way we best learn the right way to do something.

After spending many years thinking that perfection is the only way to achieve the desired outcome in any given thing, I realize in looking back, that everything eventually works out ~ screw ups and all! I am more acutely aware of how to do something, if at first I didn’t succeed in my efforts. Each time out, I operate from a place of greater understanding and it impacts my choices, my energy level, and my attitude to be one of hope.

When disappointment is associated with a particular outcome, it is usually because I have attempted to drive it, tried to manage what I can’t control, or simply allowed the challenges surrounding it to become excuses for not doing my part in it.

Recently I met a young man working at a restaurant who after having graduated from college and accepted a job making $100k, he decided that if he were to continue on his current path, he would spend a lifetime having to work harder to buy more in order to maintain a state of happiness because it wouldn’t just come from the work he was involved in. His answer? He went back to school and is presently working to get into med school because he wants to be a part of something bigger – a medical missionary ministry that brings basic healthcare to remote areas where there is none and often when a child is sick, he is kicked out of the home to avoid the risk of the entire family getting sick and dying. In my friend’s words, “no mom should ever have to make that choice … “

What I learned from my conversation with this young man is that the greatest change happens in us as we become God’s messengers to reach hearts and lives in ways that we never dreamed. It becomes a tireless effort when we are working with passion within the area of our greatest strengths and vision.

Life isn’t a waiting game to get to a place, where we finish school, or get a great job, or get married, or have a child, or get the children reared and through college etc. Life is about now, enjoying today, this moment. The key is realizing that each day we get to start with a clean slate, a new opportunity to view the world differently, through eyes of grace and love. In turn, we receive back what we contribute. How cool is that?

Sheri Geyer is a Life Management Coach, Mentor, Writer, Wife & Mom

Determining Your Boundary Lines …

Sheri_LifeCoach — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 02:17:54 +0000

What kind of boundaries do you have?

HEALTHY BOUNDARIES• You can say no or yes, and you respect others’ when they say no.
• You have a strong sense of identity. You respect yourself.
• You expect reciprocity in a relationship and share responsibility.
• You know when the problem is yours or if it belongs to someone else.
• You share personal information in a relationship based on trust.
• You don’t tolerate abuse or disrespect.
• You know and clearly communicate your wants, needs and feelings.
• You are committed to and responsible for exploring and nurturing your full potential.
• You are responsible for your happiness and fulfillment, and encourage it in others.
• You value your opinions and feelings as much as others.
• You know your limits and allow others to define theirs.
• You are able to ask for help when you need it.
• You don’t compromise your values or integrity to avoid rejection.COLLAPSED BOUNDARIES

• Fear of rejection or abandonment prevents you from saying no.
• Your identity consists of what you think others want you to be.
• You tend to be either overly responsible and controlling or passive and dependent.
• You take on others’ problems as your own.
• You share personal information prematurely, before establishing trust.
• You have a high tolerance for abuse or being treated with disrespect.
• Your wants/ needs /feelings are secondary to others and are sometimes determined by others.
• You ignore your inner voice and allow others’ expectations to define your potential.
• You tend to feel responsible for and / or rely on others’ for happiness and fulfillment.
• You tend to over-identify with the feelings of others.
• You rely on others opinions, feelings and ideas more than you do your own.
• You allow others to define your limits or attempt to define limits for others.
• You compromise your values and beliefs in order to please others or to avoid conflict.

RIGID BOUNDARIES

• You are likely to say no if the request involves close interaction.
• You avoid intimacy (pick fights, stay too busy, etc.)
• You fear abandonment OR engulfment, so you avoid closeness.
• You rarely share personal information.
• You have difficulty identifying wants, needs, feelings.
• You have few close relationships, and even with a partner you tend to lead separate lives.
• You rarely ask for help.
• You do not allow yourself to connect with other people and their problems.

How do I change?

Developing healthy boundaries will lead to improved self-esteem, better relationships and greater success in life and work.

It is a process and will take time and practice with a supportive coach or accountability partner(s) to help you determine the balance that will allow you to give of yourself out of freedom as opposed to fear of the reactions of others.

Helpful suggestions in the process:

1. Keep a journal of your thoughts and feelings. Record the feelings you have around setting boundaries and in situations where you didn’t set them.

2. Recognize that if you are uncertain about committing to a particular activity that it is okay to say no. If you determine that you can, it is easier to turn a ‘no’ into a ‘yes’ than vice versa.

3. Learn to treasure and protect the things that you value, such as your desires, thoughts and feelings.

4. Pray for the courage to be transformed to a new way of thinking. When we change our beliefs around a particular thing, we can change our thoughts, feelings and behavior.

5. Work with a mentor to receive the support, encouragement and accountability you will need to incorporate a healthy structure for boundaries.

Sheri Geyer is a Life Management Coach, Mentor, Writer, Wife & Mom

The Search for Security and Significance: The Journey Home…

Sheri_LifeCoach — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:35:50 +0000

The perpetual search that we are on is that of security and significance. It is the sense that we have roots and a purpose. It’s a place we long for where we belong. Many of us do not have a physical place that we can drive to that was our childhood home. Yet, we feel empty and desirous to have that secure feeling. In actuality, what we are seeking is a sense of belonging; a place where we fit.

In our mobile societies in America, we often relocate to new jobs, houses, cities, etc. We go home to visit parents and / or family once or maybe twice each year. In that few days or weeks, we try to fuel our tanks with something that will give us hope, strength, healing, encouragement, or maybe just a sense of normal. Sometimes the journey is helpful. Sometimes it opens up an abundance of questions that we may find are difficult to solve or resolve. Sometimes we make the trip with dread, simply feeling obligated to see the family. All in all, the journey is one we need to take for a variety of reasons.

For healing and strength, and to be what we can be in this life, we need to look back on the reality of what our childhood was with our adult eyes. We may need to ask some questions. We may need to seek some answers, or offer or ask for forgiveness or perhaps just reach a place where we don’t blame the generation before us for everything that is wrong in our lives.

Delaying the journey may keep us suspended in a state of feeling stuck and unable to move on or forward with life. This can manifest in many different ways: an overwhelming sense of discontentment, destructive relationships, overwork, alcohol or drug abuse, anxiety, overspending, anger, control and a repeated feeling of panic every time you’re faced with a similar situation that causes us to be fearful.

The reality is that in life we each have to make the “Prodigal” journey where we leave the nest and the comfort zone of what ever our childhood reality was and go out to make our mark on the world and meet our appointments with life. Our independence emerges in our teens as we try to discover just who we are and why we are here. This phase continues in our lives until we have worked through to establishing an intimate relationship and an individual faith in God.

Before we can master this phase, we must learn that the difficult things in our lives are there for a reason. They are for our growth, maturity and discovery of the path that leads us to the understanding of God’s great love for us. The void we feel in our lives is one that can only be filled by a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, His Son. Nothing else will bring mental stability and well-being, or a sense of security and significance.

Applying this knowledge with the habit of connecting with others of like-minded faith, allows us to come to depend that God is always for us and for what is best for us and that He is never going to leave us. It is both thrilling and liberating to know that we will always be in His care and He will always work all the drama in our lives together in a tapestry that leads to the good that only He can provide. We trade our sorrow, emptiness, pain, and broken dreams, and He gives us perfect love, peace and a security that surpasses all understanding.

This journey to our sense of belonging (our true home) may last for weeks, months, years or decades. It depends solely on our coming to terms with the fact that we are: a)not God; b) not in control; and c)not left to fend for ourselves in a life with no purpose.

Once these facts are firmly established in our minds, we can begin the part of the journey that leads us to maturity, commitment, purpose and fulfillment.

The path is open to us all ~ the beginning of wisdom is a surrendering of all we ever thought we would or could be to a God who fashions us into all we could ever hope to be! Make your reservation to meet with Him soon and find the path that will bring you home …

Sheri Geyer is a Life Management Coach, Mentor, Writer, Wife & Mom

To see how coaching can impact you and the things that keep you up at night, Click to Schedule online for a FREE Consultation

Reflecting on a Year Passing: A New Year Beginning …

Sheri_LifeCoach — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 17:05:17 +0000

Here we are ~ the end of another year of activities, events, victories, defeats, hopes, plans, some realized, some not.

Here we are ~ the beginning of a new year filled with hope, some trepidation, the ability to start with a clean slate, and the opportunity to grow and learn.

I have pretty much eradicated the making of New Year’s Resolutions from my life. Not so much that I think it’s a bad thing, but I have found that it is an easy way for me to experience a defeat fairly early in the year and I’d like to avoid the disappointment. So, what I do is journal my thoughts so that I am able to aim my focus on some important areas in my life, namely relationships with those who are significant to me, assessing where I am in my work, writing, coaching etc., determining how I can be simpler, yet wiser in keeping the home fires burning and in maintaining balance in my life.

I like to review each of these important areas and give some time for reflection in how I can learn, grow and more positively impact each area by making better choices or simply continuing with some that are working well. This is a good time for a chat with one of my coaching friends or mentors to determine what I need to embrace, fine tune or remove. This has proven to be very helpful for me.

In the area of relationships, I like balance. Regardless of who I am spending time with my hubby, my darling daughters, my mom, other family members, friends, clients, neighbors etc., I seek to learn more about being fully present in the times I have with them. I do tend to need to pull in and have some solitude, so I want to balance that with giving them my full attention when I get the opportunity to spend time with them in person or on the phone.

I have an ongoing desire to be better organized especially in planning meals and keeping my home as efficient and enjoyable as possible. There is usually some little idea that I can incorporate on a regular basis to realize this desire.

I enjoy working from home and brainstorming ideas for areas to write about in my blog ~ thank you for reading! And I especially appreciate and encourage your comments. What do you like? What do you think about certain posts? What would you like to read about?

I want to spend time reflecting over my life and thinking on the many blessings I have been given. I’d also like to see how to manage the balance so that I can enjoy this new season of life. It is a new year of new beginnings. And I am excited! I hope that you are.

So, if you have ideas of areas in your life to assess to either update, adjust, or remove, I pray that you will spend some time alone with God and ask that He place the people and the things on your heart that He wants to impact through you.

So whatever your year-end tradition, allow your heart and mind to find a quiet place to rest, reflect and be refreshed. As you scan the horizon of 2012, remember that living a life of thankfulness for all God has done and will do, prepares you to face each challenge with an optimistic determination that it will work together for good and then as preparation for whatever is on the horizon for you.

I look forward to growing together in the new year! May yours be the best you could imagine!

Sheri Geyer is a Life Management Coach, Mentor, Writer, Wife & Mom

To see how coaching can impact you and the things that keep you up at night, Click to Schedule online for a FREE Consultation

Plan for a New Level of Freedom: Stress-Free Financial Management

Sheri_LifeCoach — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 15:47:13 +0000

The aim of Financial Coaching is working through a proven method to prevent you from making the same mistakes, therefore, providing freedom from debt and the ability to establish a healthy financial plan allowing you to take control of your money and your life. This process provides for an emergency fund of 3-6 months of household expenses, freedom from consumer / credit card debt and a clear path to building freedom from financial stress. This is effectively accomplished in:

Accurately assessing your financial position
Brainstorming viable options for new perspectives
Determining the path you need to take
Providing support, encouragement and accountability

*Financial Crisis Coaching: If you are in the middle of a financial crisis (death of a spouse, divorce, job loss, or healthcare bills etc), and facing harassment from creditors, foreclosure or bankruptcy, we will explore your options and put some things in place so you can reduce your stress and navigate a game plan.

The Cost of Financial Coaching: Financial Coaching is an investment toward getting out of a “financially distressed” situation, and it empowers you to establish a plan to help you avoid the pitfalls that would lead you back. Many clients recoup the cost of coaching within the first 60 days in the form of budget accountability, credit settlements, and cost-cutting solutions. Fees are based on a sliding scale dependent upon your financial situation.

What about filing Bankruptcy? Bankruptcy is considered to be a major stress in life, right up with divorce and the death of a loved one. Most people also don’t realize that the average out-of-pocket cost to file bankruptcy is $2,000. For only a fraction of the price you can be coached through a tried and true process for taking control of your money and changing your life for the better.

What about Debt Consolidation and/or Credit Counseling? These companies profit from charging monthly fees. They promise lower monthly payments and paying all debts with one payment. With their monthly fees as much as $40-$50 and an average timeframe for repaying debt at 4 years, that amounts to about $2000 in fees alone.

Here’s how it works:

Schedule a complimentary consultation to discuss concerns
Be assured that everything we discuss is confidential
Learn to consider the choices you have to avoid feeling “stuck”
Be encouraged and empowered to make a significant difference in your life

Regardless of what your financial situation looks like, there is HOPE!

Schedule a complimentary consultation at SheriGeyer.com.

Sheri Geyer is a Life Management Coach, Mentor, Writer, Wife & Mom

A Touch of Christmas Past …

Sheri_LifeCoach — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 14:38:48 +0000

When we are in the Christmas season, we enjoy telling stories and sharing memories about Christmases in the past. We remember the excitement we had as children. And, the excitement of when our children began to experience the wonder of Christmas.

Our family lived fairly simply because we chose to live on one income and to homeschool. So each December we did two weeks of what we called “Christmas School”. We loved it. We made baskets for family and friends with pumpkin bread, brownies, and a variety of cookies. We enjoyed putting it together. My girls had special recipes like Tea Cookies and No Bake Cookies and Rice Crispy treats they loved making over and over.

I remember making fruit cake cookies with my Grandma. I liked getting to eat pecans that I didn’t have to shell. I remember how wonderful it smelled in our house.

Over the years, and with my mom’s never-ending zeal to learn new recipes, I learned how to make our own eggnog and many holiday items that have become my now “grown-up” traditions.

Totally different from my childhood tradition, every New Year’s Eve, I make cabbage rolls and au gratin potatoes for New Year’s Day. It has become such fun. We invite folks over who bring appetizers or something light and we enjoy. Jeff looks forward to this day as much as Christmas!

So, to share a little about past Christmases, I’ve included a few ideas that might help you have a touch more simplicity and a little bridge to what past Christmases may have been like. Enjoy!

Making gifts together is a wonderful way for family and friend bonding!
Baking gifts are a fun activity to do together. We can give cookies, cupcakes, brownies as gifts to family, it may make them fatter, but not clutter their homes with needless possessions.
Volunteering is a neat thing to do as a family or a group of friends. It may be to serve at a shelter or at your church helping out with the nursery for the many happenings that are going on and to help the many new folks who visit during the Christmas season.
Christmas songs. My girls and I have always had fun singing Christmas songs while in the car. If you are really into this, many assisted living and nursing homes could benefit from your group showing up to shed some holiday cheer.
Playing games. We love, love, love board games and other such games. We find that we can really connect when bringing out the games. Sometimes the competition can get a little intense though!
Make ornaments or decorations. Another fun thing to to shop thrift stores. You can find some very inexpensive little treasures for decoration.

Sure, buying gifts is a holiday tradition, but we can change up our traditions to align with the age and stage of life we are in now. Creating a new tradition or enhancing an old one is just another way of bridging the present to the past and making another warm and cozy memory to think back on in the future.

Whatever your tradition, allow the holidays to renew and refresh you. And get ready for an awesome new year!

Sheri Geyer is a Life Management Coach, Mentor, Writer, Wife & Mom

A Simple Christmas …

Sheri_LifeCoach — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 14:53:24 +0000

I love Christmas! I love the music, candles, sights and sounds. I love how everything lights up the world around me. I love how people seem more joyous.

The part that for many years seemed to cast a shadow over this wonderful time of celebration, was the fact that I had a nagging sense of obligation for what I “should” be doing or buying or being during this time. I longed to just love Christmas as I did when I was a child. I never worried if I bought all the right gifts or what foods to prepare or take to which events and parties. I wasn’t concerned that I would offend folks if I said “Merry Christmas” or if I mentioned a Christmas tree or whatever.

It seemed that for a number of years, I couldn’t truly relax and enjoy the season for fear of missing or overlooking something or someone or not being “relationally or culturally correct” in my greeting.

That all changed a few years back, when I decided that if what I loved about Christmas was so apparent to me as a child — I needed to revisit the sounds and sights of the season through childlike wonder. I began a journey to educate myself and those who may benefit on the reason for keeping a simple Christmas mindset.

I decided not to overcommit to what I would attend or to what I felt I needed to host. I tried to consider that if I was concerned about feelings of obligation around Christmas gift giving, maybe others felt the same. I decided if it was to be – it was up to me. So, I started communicating about the dissatisfaction I felt around feeling robbed of the true beauty and meaning of Christmas.

I began to do a lot less in the way of buying Christmas gifts and more considering gifts of service or things I could make. When I do shop, I try to buy from companies that promote items that benefit companies here in America or artisans within the context of fair trade that actually benefit villages globally to help them with education, healthcare and other needs and NOT countries that have forced child labor. I began to feel that Christmas giving had a sense of purpose and meaning that aligned well with the values I hold dear.

I asked for things that helped others give of themselves and not empty their wallets. I asked for things like a commitment to pray for me each month on the day of my birthdate (the 26th). I asked folks to give to someone in need (even themselves) as a gift in my honor. I offered to babysit or give a haircut or run an errand, not just at Christmas, but anytime during the year that I could be a blessing.

I want to be unique in the way I reach out where I live, work and play. What I have experienced in the way of friendships has been more valuable than anything I could have received in the way of material possessions. I feel good when I give or receive out of a sense of value and purpose.

I like to think that like the little drummer boy, the choices I’ve made for a simple Christmas have made and are making a lasting impact on my little corner of the world. They can in your little corner too. Consider ways that you can reduce the stress and enjoy the season. Think of ways you can give all year round without busting the budget. You will be amazed at the ideas that you may come up with – and that others may be more than willing to get on board.

So, this season, rejoice in the CHRIST of Christmas and the gift that continues to give — a peace that passes all understanding. And you might find that “everyday can be just like Christmas!”

Sheri Geyer is a Life Management Coach, Mentor, Writer, Wife & Mom

Live Simply: Holiday Life Balance

Sheri_LifeCoach — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 15:42:25 +0000

Ahh, the Holidays are here! This time can be great, and stressful, trying to put it all together. It’s blended families, extended families, some who come early, some who get in just under the wire and this can make planning difficult. We are so busy with so much to juggle that we feel out of control.

Maybe there are some simple things that brighten your world. Perhaps a favorite candle that you can enjoy. The fragrance may bring back special memories. Maybe it’s listening to holiday music or baking cookies and pies or calling old friends or sending cards.When it comes to preparations, find the path of peace. Do what you can do, and allow others to pitch in or bring items they have prepared. Reserve the energy you need to enjoy! Buying a ready made dish and adding your special touches is totally acceptable. Most of the expectations around what and how we do something are simply our expectations based on our family traditions.It is easy to lose energy and motivation because we add more projects to an already overbooked lifestyle. Have you stopped to think about the value it adds to your life to do a little something extra just for yourself? It makes it a whole lot easier and enjoyable to complete the tasks when you are rested and refreshed.Giving of ourselves can bring such reward. Time or gifts do not have to be elaborate or all-consuming. More importantly, let them come from the heart. Then they are something you really want to put your “heart” into.If you have guests in that offer to help, it’s okay to let them. You don’t have to be Super Elf. Folks can feel bad if they are simply sitting around while the host is running around trying to work it all out for everyone. Balance your time so that when you have some free time you still have energy to connect with loved ones. They are visiting to see you. Enjoy the moments that are the memories you will look back on for years to come.

This year take the opportunity to bring back the true meaning of Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s about the gift of investing in the ones we care about. It’s a conscious effort to recognize that Christmas is a reminder of the Christ Child, God’s greatest gift given for us. Let us lift our hearts and receive the gifts of peace and joy, freedom, safety, a place we belong and the meaningful moments that will bring a smile each time we remember.

So this season, choose one last gift. It’s a gift for you. Deliberately choose the way that reflects that which is in your heart. Your loved ones will notice and you will enjoy the freedom. Be intentional and enjoy each moment!

Sheri Geyer is a Life Management Coach, Mentor, Writer, Wife & Mom

To see how coaching can impact you and the things that keep you up at night, click to schedule online for a FREE phone consultation