How to Avoid "The Christmas MIss" - Jordan Childs
835
post-template-default,single,single-post,postid-835,single-format-standard,bridge-core-2.3.3,qode-restaurant-3.0,ajax_fade,page_not_loaded,,qode-title-hidden,qode_grid_1300,qode_popup_menu_push_text_top,qode-content-sidebar-responsive,qode-child-theme-ver-1.0.0,qode-theme-ver-21.9,qode-theme-bridge,disabled_footer_top,wpb-js-composer js-comp-ver-6.2.0,vc_responsive
christmas "presence" with family

22 Dec How to Avoid “The Christmas MIss”

Posted at 17:05h in Decision Making, Practices, Relationships, Thought by
0 Likes

There’s one extremely easy way to experience “the Christmas miss” this year. What is “the Christmas miss”? It is when you neglect to give your “presence” to the people who matter most to you.

This year I’m extremely blessed to have family coming to my new home. I’ve been waiting for this with anticipation for months. I can’t wait to hug them, eat, laugh, and enjoy each other. More than anything this year, I really want to give myself the present of getting the most out of my time with them. The only way I can do this is to be intentional about being present with them.

What does this “presence” I’m talking about look like? Presence is engagement in the moment. To convey an idea I learned from Nir Eyal in his book Indistractible (I highly recommend it), to be present is to know what you intend to focus on and gain “traction” around that focus by eliminating the sources that would bring “distraction”.

The biggest daily threat to my ability to gain traction, and perhaps the greatest enemy of my goal of presence during this Christmas season is my smartphone. A related second would be social media. 

Identifying the enemies is a good step but in order to actually defeat them I have to be intentional. I’ve also learned that when it comes to intentionality, simplicity is king.

So what’s my simple plan to avoid “the Christmas miss”? 

  1. I’ll only check social media once a day at 5pm for the duration of my family’s visit.
  1. Upon their arrival, I’m going to have a conversation with my family and come to a consensus on when we want to do phone free times.

That’s it. 

Two simple steps. 

The principle underlying both of these steps is enacting healthy boundaries. Boundaries seem restricting but when used correctly they actually promote a greater sense of freedom in the areas we value most. 

How will you avoid “the Christmas miss” this year? If you don’t like my plan, come up with your own. Just don’t miss out on the special moments with the people who mean something to you because these moments are the greatest gift that Christmas has to offer.

No Comments

Post A Comment