It feels this year as if many people are at the end of their tether.
I’ve had a few conversations this week where people have told me that they’re exhausted and overwhelmed. I’ve had business meetings cancelled at short notice and my family are succumbing to nasty colds.
People seem to be checking out earlier than usual for Christmas. Or if they’re working into next week, then there’s a definite sense of just hanging on.
It’s not surprising given the year we’ve had. You coped with the all the personal and business anxieties that lockdown brought. Then you picked yourself up and threw yourself into your work playing catch-up. And now the new uncertainty is bringing a scary sense of deja-vu and re-igniting all your concerns and confusion.
Lack of certainty is a common cause of stress. Especially when you’re used to being in control and able to find solutions.
This time of year it’s particularly hard to find the resilience to keep bouncing back. It’s the darkest part of the winter when your energy levels are naturally low.
Right now, all Nature wants you to do is hibernate and conserve your energy until the New Year, when it’s time to start afresh.
And if you’re exhausted then it really is time to take your foot off the gas.
Yet it’s tempting to use the holiday to put some extra hours in. You tell yourself that you’ll feel better if only you compete X or Y before you officially go back to work.
And of course if you’re working from home it’s easy to just do an hour or so, right?
If you’ve got habituated to running on adrenalin, pushing on when really you need to rest, your system becomes flooded with stress hormones. It becomes very hard to switch off, to stop thinking and planning. Your sleep suffers and your reserves drain fast.
This of course is the road to burnout…
So please take a proper break this Christmas.
Step away. Look up. Take in the bigger picture.
Reconnect with the things that bring you comfort and a sense of peace.
They are right there in front of you.
If one of the things that’s driving your exhaustion and overwhelm is lack of sleep, now is not a good time to start tackling it (I know, a strange thing for me to be saying!).Turning your sleep around will take effort that’s hard to muster this time of year. And alcohol, heavy dinners and sweet treats aren’t great for sleep 🙂
But now is a great time to start sowing the seed of how easier things would be if you could rely upon your sleep. So –
There is ONE thing you can do right now to get ahead for 2022.
Schedule a Call now with me for the New Year.
Then relax! You’ve taken the first step to the possibility that next year will see you sleeping like a baby!
I wish you a very happy Christmas break.
