Maybe, just maybe there’s one day out of the year we can choose to change our perspective to one of human kindness, Love, patience and gratitude.

Maybe, just maybe we can drop all of our resentment, fear, worries, and tightly held presumptions we may or may not have and choose to give others the benefit of the doubt. Maybe even bring some joy to their lives.

Maybe, just maybe there’s a day we can see others as an opportunity to give something of value we have away to others. Maybe it’s not money or gifts. Maybe it’s just a “hello,” or “happy holidays.” It could be a smile that connects two human beings to let them know they’re not alone.

Maybe. Maybe Christmas is the perfect time.

Maybe we can take this season of joy – around the holidays – and stretch it out just a wee bit on both sides. By doing so, maybe we can be a little more kind, patient and loving to those around us. Both loved-ones and strangers.

Why not? I know for myself, it takes as much energy – maybe even more – to be angry/not happy/unkind than it does to be kind and loving. How much energy does it take to yell and cuss (that’s me), throwing your hands in the air, etc. when someone cuts you off in traffic vs. not being effected at all and allowing the person in front of you to get where they need to go with Love in our hearts. I know the answer to that.

And I feel good every time I do it. Tis the season . . . of Love.

Sam Harris once said – and I’m paraphrasing – if we can be a good person and remain present in the moment, that is more than enough and will keep us focused and busy the rest of our lives.

Having that been said – and especially during the holiday season – I’m intending to do my best to do just that; Remain present in each and every moment while we navigate our busy schedules, without letting my focus drift to ‘what’s next.’

This is the ‘gift’ I’m going to give myself and to my loved-ones around me – my undivided time and attention.

After all, what’s more precious than that?

Keeping It Simple Silly, is always a better default than making things overcomplicated.

There are so many times in my day that I make things way to difficult by not keeping it simple. I often equate this with reverse engineering.

Not that I’m nearly intelligent enough to be an engineer, I take what I can from the field in order to distill down to what it takes to get from point A to point B. And more times than not, it can fall into 3 actionable steps.

The way I do this is by beginning at the end. If I want to accomplish something: let’s say, shoot a commercial for my cabinet shop. Then I work backwards from there.

In order to do that, I need a script; 1. write a script. Then I will need to have the proper personnel in place in order to shoot it, edit, etc. 2. Gather personnell. Then I will need a day to shoot it. 3. Schedule a time and place to shoot it and get it in the can.

I don’t necessarily think it’s important that you immediately have the perfect steps, but rather distill it down to 3 actionable actions you can take right now. Because everything within you wants to procrastinate.

After all, the details are in the doing, not the thinking about doing.

It has always fascinated me what people choose to believe within themselves. Part of this comes from their childhood and how they were raised and part of it comes from their life experiences and how they have responded to those outcomes.

Someone who is raised in a household where money and investing was a constant topic of conversation, where responsible and insightful financial issues were discussed and where abundance was demonstrated throughout the family lifestyle – it is these people who have an ability to attract larger amounts of money into their lives as they become adults.

But, yet that same adult lives on fast food and alcohol and is lost when it comes to any sort of physical exercise or knowing intrinsically what is good for their body.

This would ring true as well with a child who is exposed at a young age to outdoor living and exercise with an attention to healthy eating habits of whole foods and the avoidance of unhealthy living.

This may seem like common sense I suppose, but what interests me is the deep-seeded beliefs within those people of what they have concluded they can or cannot manifest in their lives. To me, it’s only – their belief in themselves – that keeps them from attracting what they desire into their lives.

I know I’ve had times in my life when I’ve had success at something – only because I made the effort to try – in addition to a lack of information that protected me from myself in believing I couldn’t do it. It was only later on did others define what I did as “difficult” or “hard.” But because I had already accomplished it and was somewhat successful, I didn’t know I couldn’t do it. If that makes sense.

Another way of saying it is, ‘staying neutral.’ Is it hard? How about easy? Maybe we should refrain from using that language or even asking those questions. Instead maybe we should approach each and every endeavor in front of us with a neutral mindset knowing we can if chose to believe so.

After all, all things are possible.