Want to Feel Like a Kid at Christmas?

Time to read: December is all about gifts, including the gift of time. Less than one minute to read. (Even though it's technically still Nov, I like to start the Christmas countdown the day after Thanksgiving!)

I've been watching the mail for these! It's like Christmas!

Remember when you were little and Christmas took FOREVER to come? You watched the mail and snuck around the house peeking in closets looking for gifts. Do you remember bursting with anticipation? You lay in your bed, propping your eyes open, hardly able to stand the wait until Christmas morning.

Do you ever feel that sense of pure excitement, thrill and anticipation in your life now? If you do, you're lucky. And I have a feeling that your morning commute doesn't make you leap out of bed at 4:00 am or that staff meeting doesn't cause you to ask, "Is it time yet? Is it time yet?"

What if you could, every once in a while, give yourself the gift of anticipation and thrill?

You can.

You don't have to wait for someone else to give you what you want. You don't have to spend a lot of money to feel excited. And you don't have to hope beyond hope that Santa will still put a present under the tree for you.

Giving yourself a gift may be the best... well... gift you can give yourself.

Here are some easy gifts for self-giving:

• Order something and have lots of fun checking the email every hour to see if it has arrived.
• Plan a tea date with a beloved friend you haven't seen in a while and count the days.
• Schedule a phone call with someone far away and relish the waiting to connect.
• Plan a block of free time over the weekend to paint, read, or listen to a favorite album and then get excited.

The key is to plan something and have fun waiting. Choose one and enjoy the feeling of being a kid at Christmas again!

With rebel love,

Christina

P.S. Invite your friends to join us for December where I will be all presents all the time in honor of Christmas. They can join us here. Did I mention that I LOVE Christmas?

Accepting accolades. It's hard. Here's how.

Estimated read time: 2 minutes.

An award proudly displayed in our house!

In two sessions today, clients talked about being uncomfortable about being recognized, and when something comes up twice in one day, it's in the air and goes right into a newsletter (with client permission, of course).

You've heard the adage, "it is better to give than to receive." Giving is great. Of course it is. And this adage makes the receiving part sound "less-than" or worse than the giving part. We've grown up in a culture that has taught us to be uncomfortable with receiving, teaching us that we're not worthy of the praise and recognition we deserve. Boo. Hiss.

Here are the two client stories to illustrate the point:

One of my clients received a 12% pay raise. Twelve, amazing percent! Money is one of the ways that organizations show love, and this guy got a giant, hand-delivered care package covered in corporate hearts! Know what he said? "It kinda freaked me out because now I wonder what I have to do next."

The other client was named "Employee of the Month." Not for her department, not for her division, but for her entire center of 2500 people! Know what she did? She emailed the decision makers and told them they must have made a mistake and then told me that she really didn't work that hard and that other people deserved it more.

Good thing they both have a coach to set them straight.

Are you thinking, "wow, these people are amazing. They deserve their accolades. But not me?" Perhaps you relate to one of these popular ways to deflect recognition and praise:

• ignoring it
• skip past it
• turning it into praise for other people
• denying it
• finding all kinds of smart reasons why it isn't true

You deserve the praise you receive, too. Here are some tips to help you gracefully receive kudos, awards, and compliments:

1. Practice abundance thinking. There is room in this world and in your workplace for every person to shine bright and be amazing. Praise and recognition is not a rare commodity. Everyone can have some!
2. Don't compare yourself to others. Accolades for you doesn't mean diddly about other people. It's just about you.
3. Enjoy your moment. Stop for a moment to acknowledge what you did well and let yourself bask in that glow.
4. Celebrate! Mark this great event with a special dinner or a treat for yourself. You deserve it!
5. In the moment when everyone is emailing you with congratulations or patting you on the back or your boss is telling you, "well done," just smile, say thank you, and keep breathing.

Just breathe and receive. Breathe and receive.

You can do this.

Christina