Enter the Holidays!
Well, we’ve come up on that time of year where people the world over are celebrating this great event: Christmas. Even people who aren’t particularly faithful will celebrate Christmas. We give gifts, we buy gifts for others, we receive gifts from others, we spend a lot of time with family. And we celebrate Christmas because of the importance of the event and what it means to us; even people who don’t follow it very strongly really understand what Christmas is all about.
Most of us, at least, take a break from our daily working and driving to success to get in a little down-time and relax. Still there are many that can’t (or mostly won’t) even take a break for one day. The entrepreneurial mantra is that you are working every day, even on holidays.
Questioning Your Motives
But one question to ask yourself is WHY.
- WHY are you sacrificing relationships for your work?
- WHY are willing to put everything else aside to achieve your goal?
- WHY is it important?
- WHY are you not able to take a brief respite from driving towards success?
And then one big WHAT question to ask:
- WHAT is the REAL reason you are driven to meet your goal or achieve success?
Is it to serve yourself or to serve others? Is it out of deep caring and concern or a need for personal achievement?
I have written before about self-fulfillment motives versus being motivated by the service you provide. The key to focusing on serving others is to really, sincerely care for others and believe in others and seek to add value to others.
At the core, what we do has to apply a little bit of the REAL meaning of Christmas to the rest of our lives.
See, at the core, what Christmas is really all about is LOVE! It’s about how we love others! How we care for them and nurture them and seek to help them achieve their best.
And this is the opportunity that our purpose presents to us: the opportunity to love others. To put the focus on other people in our daily activities – not just once a year but throughout the year – so we can care for them and add value to them.
So here’s a few things that I want you to take from this holiday season apply throughout your life and the coming year to share that love.
- Do something for someone else who can never pay you back. Focus on that, look to do that daily; something for someone who can never pay you back. That’s what love really means; when you don’t expect a reward or a payback, what can you do for others.
- Take time out to appreciate the gift of everyone you encounter. What’s special about the people you spend your time and relationships with? Tell them. Tell them what they mean to you and that will make a world of difference to them!
- Look around you and appreciate the LOVE that the creator has shown you by surrounding you with blessings! Even when you don’t necessarily see them.
You have to see value to add value. That takes time and reflection. Focus on the value around you and the opportunity to make it every greater.