It’s Christmas time!

The best time of the year! Seriously! Okay, I’ll stop with that. Everyone responds to stress differently. Some of you, my opening stressed you out. Others of you would need three shots of adrenaline to get stress even on the radar. No matter who you are, with all the hustle and bustle around the holiday time of year, stress can be a factor. There are some simple steps you can take to handle the stress.

Get perspective –

If you don’t have people in your contact list that are doing bigger and better things than you, then you need to get a better network of people you talk to. During times of being overwhelmed I usually like to talk to a person or two that isn’t in my trenches that can give me some 30,000 feet in the air perspective. People who have seen the other side and know it will all work out in the end. People that you can share your problems to, that instead of thinking you are whining, will help you process through some of your situations. At the same time, people who will be honest with you and tell you when you are just whining.

One bite at a time –

Usually our events were so complex I needed to map it all out and break it down by area and when things were needed by. When doing this, it can get extremely overwhelming looking at all that needs to be done. This is when you need to remember the story of how to eat an elephant, one bite at a time. After breaking it all down, you should have a solid team around you that will help in getting this objective across the goal line. If not, it would be good to invest in people to develop this team, and there is no better time than right now. Just remind yourself, one bite at a time.

This too shall pass –

Life is seasons. Work hard, do your best, lead your teams through it, and know that this too shall pass. When hours get long, remember you had time of rest and that was to set-up this time. When the event is over, make time to rest again. If you don’t, you’re the only one to blame. It’s not easy, especially because your body will be geared at that pace, but force yourself to stop and recharge.

[Tweet “When hours get long, remember you had time of rest and that was to set-up this time.”]

Nothing great is easy –

If you wanted to do something easy, you got in the wrong line of work. It’s usually under-appreciated, underpaid, and the depth and breadth of what you did will not be known. I always joked with people that we were the CIA in that you don’t know our wins and our losses are huge and highly visible. BUT, it is the most fulfilling work you will ever do. There will be people who know what you did to get it done, and even if they don’t, God knows. Nothing great is easy. If doing the impossible were easy, everyone would do it.

Pray –

Take time and pray. Read the bible. If you say you don’t have time, make the time. Part of stress is thinking it is done on your own work. To do great and impossible things God is going to have to be there with you. Ask for his help and see him answer in big ways. The fun part of faith is prayer is usually never answered how you expected it to be.

Merry Christmas!