This is my response to the next question in my private conversation with my best bud Kelly McCausey (click here if you are new).

Kelly asked….

“Will you be slowing down for the holiday season as far as the number of hours you put in each week? And how have you cultivated a positive outlook for yourself? ”

First of all, Kelly, I loved your response to my last question about ‘How You Stay Positive' and learning more about how faith plays a role in your day to day life. Thank you for being so open with your answer.

I, too, find that being positive can be hard work, especially when you add confidence into the mix. Thing DO go wrong … every single day… in business, and it comes back to how you are going to think about those things when they do go wrong. I feel that self-talk is a huge determining factor. We talk to ourselves like we would never THINK to talk to others. My goodness, the things we tell ourselves can be so mean.

When something goes wrong, do we say:

“Well, that stunk, but it's just part of business. Let's fix it so I can still salvage my day.”

or…

“WHY does this stuff always happen to ME? Oh, I swear I can't do anything right!”

One thought is a “Yeah, stuff happens, let's move on.” The other turns the blame on oneself as being incompetent and unlucky. Not cool. We need to just realize that stuff happens. It's nothing personal.

When I've said self-criticizing statements to my husband, he'll say to me “Don't you DARE talk about my wife like that. If anyone else on this planet said that crap about my wife, I'd throw down.” 😉 He then follows it with nice words like beautiful and smart and I realize how moronic I sounded.

He's my hero. With his silly reply he reminds me that I'd better really listen to what I'm saying to myself and realize that it is mostly lies and “crap” like he said — and certainly not doing me a bit of good. It puts things into perspective. I think we all need a little verbal face slap once in awhile.

Plus, I can't imagine my daughter saying those things to herself, so I need to remember that I'm my mother's daughter and that's not very loving to treat my mother's daughter like that. (Did I lose you?)

Also, like I mentioned in my other post, I do try to count my blessings every day. It's too easy to focus on all the bad things, since they usual require attention and action. It's too easy to ignore all the good things. It's the typical “Squeaky Wheel Syndrome” . The bigger the problem, the more of our attention and energy it gets, while we neglect to remember all the *wonderful* blessings we have each day.

Our friend, Annette, is thankful every day for M&M's. I think she's very wise to take time each day to be thankful for the simple things like chocolate. Don't you?

Anyway, onto your other question… Will I take time off?

No. End of discussion. lol.

Actually I will spend more time with my family, but that's because they'll all be home, but I don't plan to work much less than I normally do. Some less of course, but not much. I'm not taking a week off or anything.

I have several sites that I'd like to sell, several projects that need to be finished, and even more that need a little TLC. I'd like to start 2008 with a clean and organized plate.

I'm trying to get things in order to make that happen without spending too much time driving myself crazy. Here's how…

1. I'm in the process of doing a big batch of freezer cooking since I'll have 3 meals each day to prepare while hubby and the kids are home from school. So, I made 6 lasagnas on Wednesday, and I'll be making a huge batch of chili today. That will help me to have more time to work, too. 🙂

2. Doing all my holiday shopping online. I don't have the time or patience to do the malls at Christmas (unless my mom asks me for fun, and then I can't say “no”).

3. Scheduling hours. While hubby and the kids are home, I'm strictly enforcing the 500 miles rule. When my door is shut, I am considered 500 miles away.

4. Snack bin. Stocking up on healthy snacks and drinks so the kids don't have to keep asking us for snacks. They can help themselves.

5. I've also just found a handyman that I LOVE, so now I can get all of the projects around the house done. (Garage door, pool liner, exterior paint, new windows, etc. Plus, we still have hurricane damage that hasn't been repaired.) All that stuff kind of sneaks up on you so it's all come due at once. And, I finally have someone I trust to handle it all for me. So, instead of trying to do much of that ourselves (which I stink at), I now can turn it over to someone else and spend my time doing what I'm good at. 🙂

So, Kel, my question. What's your favorite part about the holidays — both personal and with business? I know one thing is that this year you live near family, and you have your new nieces and nephews to love on. You've got to be loving this time of year!

Chat with you soon, my friend!

N

(Keep an eye on Kelly’s blog for her reply.)