Resisting the Ramp-Up! Why Ending the Year Well is Better

We always hear them say, “End the Year Strong!”

You know…

It’s not too late—Make it a strong finish!

Oh please.

In a season where life traditionally gets ramped up over the final weeks of the year, I’m dialing it back for the rest of the year at the LifeUntucked^® Headquarters. And I’m hoping you’ll think about doing the same.

Brodie and I will be running the show with a bare-bones staff until January 4^th

In truth, we’ll be carrying on with my usual staff…

… which of course, is Brodie demanding I get up and walk him and me at the keyboard. It’s the change in mindset that counts here. I mean that. It’s amazing what else changes when you simply think differently about what you’ve been thinking about. Get that?

What if we worry less about ending the year strong and more about ending it well? The difference is subtle, and you’re free to define ‘well’ any way that suits you.

In last weeks’ post, we talked about how after Thanksgiving, December arrives with lots of rushing around with holiday preparations and at work. 

Sounds exhausting, doesn’t it?

Remember too, we’re already so very exhausted this year. Who needs to add that hustle and bustle to the mix? Not me! —You??

Yes, business and our work obligations are important—but not as important as our family and friends. Looking out for friends and family are among the most important things in life. When you think about it, that really IS LIFE!

Let’s mull over Thanksgiving with a few thoughts that caught my attention…

Disclaimer: The quips below are a little random. I tripped over some of them in my reading throughout the year.

• Remember, “… thank you’s have no deadline.”—Michael Roderick, Small Pond Enterprises. Of course, sooner is usually better. Think about the last time you thanked someone for something they did that positively affected your life. It’s never too late, just ask a teacher who ran into a former student.
• One of the lessons of Thanksgiving is we tend to eat too much…. until we’re full. Then we have seconds. Repeat after me… No thanks, I’ve had enough. I’m not sure it’ll work, but I’m giving it a try. Again, the whole end of the year thing sort of feels the same way.
• “The older I get, the less I want, and I need even less than that.”—Seth Godin, author. Maybe we filled ourselves up with the wrong stuff?
• “Only in America do we wait in line and trample each other for sale items one day after giving thanks for what we already have.”—Joshua Becker, becomingminimalist.com. This one admittedly feels a bit cynical. A simple question comes to mind… are there more valuable pursuits to be found elsewhere… without the lines and lost sleep?
• When I searched my Evernote app for ‘Thanksgiving’ this recipe came up. I saved it because it sounds delicious. Give it a try and let me know what you think. I don’t see the word Thanksgiving anywhere in there, by the way. But it still sounds yummy.
• And on that note, keep in mind about 8-million more people here in America, and I won’t even begin to venture a guess how many worldwide are in a world of hurt by no fault of their own. Let’s dig a little deeper when we walk by that Red Kettle and other opportunities like them.
• And finally, “I am thankful to be thankful.”— a New York Times reader. Knowing how to be thankful and how thankful to be, is a skill worth developing.

What I wish for you too, my friend is that on this day our world feels at least incrementally less noisy and mixed-up… and maybe we can carry that forward into the holiday season and well into next year.

Strive to end well. Be untucked.

p.s. I know I don’t say it enough, but I want to thank you for being a reader… it means the world to me that you take a few minutes of your week to visit LifeUntucked^®

p.p.s. If you enjoyed this post, would you consider sharing it with a friend? I would be thankful. You’re the best!

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