Are you ready? Christmas is wondrous. Ready. Set. Go.
What are your expectations? Our expectations get us into a lot of trouble, especially those expectations that we keep to ourselves. They can be the source of so much misery and disappointment. Welcome back to best Christmas ever where we are exploring 28 ways to make this your best Christmas ever. Number five, temper your expectations. Sometimes lowering your expectations is the only sane thing to do. Every family has stories about people who do the same thing year after year to offend and upset others. Their actions are no doubt the primary problem, but you get to decide how you respond to their actions, and you get to set your own expectations. The gap between what we expect to happen and what actually happens is where so much of our unhappiness resides. I call this the expectations gap. Five things fill the gap: disappointment, resentment, anger, frustration, and loss of trust. Take some time to think about the expectations you have of other people this Christmas. Are they reasonable? Will they meet them? Do you need to adjust your expectations? Then take some time to think about the expectations you have of yourself this Christmas. Are they reasonable? Will you meet them? Do you need to adjust your expectations? And now, take some time to think about the expectations other people have of you this Christmas. Are they reasonable? Will you meet them? Do you need to have a conversation with anyone to adjust those expectations? It might be time to reset some of your expectations.
Wait, before you go, my dad has one more tip, and you're not going to want to miss this.
It's not easy to have a great Christmas in a world where everyone is striving for what isn't worth having. Welcome back to 28 obstacles that will prevent you from having your best Christmas ever. Obstacle number five is taking things personally that are not personal. People do crazy things. People say crazy things. Don't try to understand them because they are often not reasonable or rational, and don't take them personally. Most people are too busy thinking about themselves to think about you and me. So don't inject their selfishness with meaning. Taking things personally that are not personal is a sure way to ruin your Christmas. But remember, find your joy, guard your joy, follow your joy, not just happiness. It seems our culture has confused happiness with comfort. And following comfort will lead you to misery. Find your joy, cherish your joy, guard your joy, and follow your joy. Do you feel too busy, overwhelmed, stressed? You aren't alone. A sense of joyless urgency is dominating our culture. The sheer speed and busyness we have adopted isn't how life was intended to be lived. It's time for a new strategy. It's time to slow down to the speed of joy. Right now, when you become a dynamic Catholic ambassador, we will send you a free copy of Slowing Down to the Speed of Joy. So, click the button below and join today.
Have a great day!
