4 Tips for Finding Peace During the Hustle and Bustle
As yet another year winds down, many offices are closing now for the next few days. Many of us are taking time off over the holidays to celebrate with family and friends. Many of us are also enjoying the quiet work time that can happen when everyone else is away from the office. But, all these things mean this time of year is often filled with plenty of hustle and bustle, and sometimes some stress too.
So, whether you find yourself surrounded by family and friends, or extra stacks of work that need to get done, we thought we’d close out this year with four tips on finding peace and calm in those moments when things seem to be moving almost too quickly.
1. Find your inner happy place
Often we have a favorite space or a place that we can picture in our minds that give us joy and peace, or at least a little bit of calm. For many of us these are ocean scenes or the view from a mountain top. I’ve even heard of some folks describe their calm place as on the back of a motorcycle when they can hear nothing but the roar of the engine and the hum of the road.
Whatever your calm place is, get a mental picture of it in your head and go there for just a second. Take a deep breath and focus on what you see in your mind’s eye. Soon you will be able to return with a little bit more energy, and hopefully a little less stress.
2. Try counting
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or years they have taught us to count to ten when we’re angry or stressed. I believe it was Thomas Jefferson who said “When I’m angry I count to ten. When I’m really angry I count to 100.” While simply counting to ten gives us a brief escape and a moment to pause, what if, to create peace this time of year, instead of just counting to ten we counted ten things we are grateful for instead?
The roof over your head
The food you ate for lunch
The people around you
The list could go on. The next time you are feeling stressed, or angry, or really angry, don’t just count numbers. Instead count blessings. I bet you’ll find them without too much effort.
3. Say thank you
Once you’ve counted, and you’ve found your calming space, try saying an audible thank you. In the midst of the craziness, it is easy to lose sight of what we are grateful for.
Express gratitude to the people by your side for something they have done for you this year
Express gratitude to your customers for allowing you to serve them this late in the year
Express gratitude for your financial successes this year or for the promises of the year to come
By simply saying thank you we shift the focus off ourselves and we are able to find calm and restore peace.
4. Serve someone else
One of the reasons we tend to get so stressed over the holidays is because we tend to be focused on what we need.
“What is left on my to do list?”
“What shopping do I still need to get done?”
“How am I going to spend these last few moments of the year?”
With our thoughts so zeroed in on “I” we can easily be consumed by it all. What if, instead of focusing on I or me, we stopped and focused on someone else?
“What is left on your to do list that I can help you with?”
“What shopping do you need to do? Can I pick something up for you?”
“What are your end of year plans? How can we make them a little brighter together?”
Shift your focus to the people around you and see if that doesn’t restore just a little bit of peace and joy to your heart.
How have you found peace during the busy season? Let us know on social media!
