Mike Iamele wants to remind you to give someone special a gift this year…and it’s not who you think.
Christmas is just around the corner. Kwanzaa too. And Hanukkah is already underway. (Not to mention Festivus.)
We’re officially in the midst of the holiday season. Some of us are rushing to buy our last-minute gifts. Some of us are rushing to finish up our work before the holidays hit. Some of us are rushing to get our houses cleaned for the big parties. It’s a busy time of year for some.
For others, it’s a tough one. The days are getting darker, the weather’s getting colder, and the holiday lights remind us of who’s missing at the table. Friends, family, loved ones who’ve passed on. It can be a time of loneliness, a time of sadness. It always reminds us of who we have right now—and who we don’t.
And still others see it as a time of giving—a time of charity. Maybe we’re donating to those less fortunate. Maybe we’re doing nice things for all the people we care about. Maybe we’re baking those pies or making some hand-made gifts—you know the ones with the extra special touch.
We hardly take the time to acknowledge our accomplishments any time throughout the year.
|
However we spend this time of year, there’s always one person who gets the total shaft. One person who’s left out from all of the giving and love and pride. For a time of year that’s all about kindness, we sure forget to be kind to the most important person: ourselves.
Over the last week or so, I’ve watched family members rush around until they got sick. I’ve watched colleagues and business associates work themselves into panic attacks. I’ve watched friends lose sleep just to get the right toys. Clients worry about everyone else in their lives. Acquaintances struggle to get it all done.
I’ve watched us all worry about, care for, and help everyone else in our lives. Everyone but ourselves.
And then I think back over the last 365 days. To this time last year. To where I was. And I remember how much I went through in 2014. All of the ups and downs. The pain and heartbreak. The joy and happiness. I saw people come together like never before. I saw people being ripped from each other in the most heart-wrenching of ways. I saw accomplishments and pride. I saw disappointment and downfall.
Mostly, I saw my life and those around me moving forward.
It’s the holidays. We owe a gift to ourselves. The gift of pride.
|
And that’s what I want to celebrate this holiday season. That’s what I want to enjoy. We owe it to ourselves. We owe a gift to ourselves. We’ve worried about everyone else. It’s time to give ourselves a gift. Give ourselves some of that Christmas spirit.
The gift of pride.
For some of us, it’s the pride that we just survived all we went through this year. That was no small feat. For others, it’s the pride of how you took a few steps forward. And for others yet, it’s the pride of how you’ve stepped into a new role—a mother, a grandfather, a new wife, a new friend.
The world has thrown a lot at us this year. And we’ve all stepped up to the plate. We’ve all gotten up there and hit what was coming at us. Maybe we weren’t perfect. Maybe we haven’t figured it all out just yet. But we’re human. We’re exactly where we need to be.
And sometime during the hecticness of the days ahead, take a moment to soak it all in. Take a moment to give yourself that gift of pride. That acknowledgement that you’ve survived another year. Screw that—you’ve thrived another year. You deserve a moment to remember how far forward you’re moving.
We hardly take the time to acknowledge our accomplishments any time throughout the year. But it’s the holidays. It’s Christmas. And I hear that now is the time of giving—the time to share gifts with those we love.
If we can’t treat ourselves well, if we can’t be proud for just a day, then how can we ever expect anyone else to treat us well? We teach the world how we should be treated, starting with the way we treat ourselves.
Originally posted at BostonWellnessCoach.com.
Photo: Jeff Kramer/Flickr
Like The Good Men Project on Facebook!
Want highlights from The Good Men Project delivered to your email? Join our mailing list here.
oh, no. It was who I thought.
Clickbait titles tend to just irritate people who give you the benefit of the doubt…