Christmas Gift Ideas You Ought to Know

With Christmas around the corner I know you are probably up to your neck with your THINGS TO DO list, along with your WHO TO SEND XMAS CARDS TO list, and your little WISH LIST buried down there somewhere. I tell you, Christmas is the time of year we get so excited about but can't wait to get over with. I mean look at all the things that needed doing still. The long hours at the mall and the longer hours still if you had to return something back for an exchange or a refund. And if your folks are coming over then you also have to plan for Christmas dinner, as well as their accommodations for the few days they are visiting.

With all the things you need to do, do you think you'll have time to reflect on what all this is about? Besides what you need to be wrapping up for the tree do you know of any more gift ideas that will make this season worth remembering for years to come? There are many people you can make a list for but let's focus on your spouse for this post. A lot of people think of one thing and one thing only when they hear the word CHRISTMAS. There is a strong association with gift giving with an afternote of, "It's better to give than to receive".

How about this for a change. Instead of giving a gift, a material object, try to give more of yourself, your time, your services. I know it's hard to even spare an hour or two especially with the Holidays around the corner but don't you see the significance of it all? When you give you show them that you care but if you give more of what I mentioned above, you let them FEEL that you care. Ok, let's switch that around. What if you found yourself waking up say Christmas morning and you saw that old heap of a car of yours earning a spot in eternity in your garage suddenly buffed and shined to life and ready to go compliments of the kids, or your wife cooking you that Christmas Dinner full of your favorite recipes you haven't tasted since who knows how long? Wouldn't that be more memorable to you than say the pair of boxer shorts YOU KNOW you wouldn't be wearing anyway? You get the picture. Now do that for someone you love and really care about.

I believe that Christmas, more than anything, is a time to REFLECT. To remember how BLESSED we really are. Who cares if it's been a terrible year. What matters is you are still HERE and with the people you love, ready to try again next year. Share your blessings because someone may just share theirs with you. Until our next post, folks...avoid the Holiday rush and don't wait for that last minute trip to the mall. Instead think what you can do now for that special person and try to see what they really need the most. You'll find that 99% of the time all they really need is YOU. Love one another and be kind always. Take care and thanks for your time.

Overcoming Fear

What is the one thing that prevents you from living the life you always wanted, the one single factor which prevents you from exploiting all of your choices in life, from recognizing and appreciating opportunities as they present themselves to you, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, freezes you into non-action? you guessed it. Fear. Fear, you see is a defensive mechanism. When we are afraid of something we tend to stay away from it and avoid it altogether. This is a survival tactic in nature and it keeps preys down the food chain alive, as they flee from their would-be predators. For us, however, fear isn't just something we feel when we are afraid. It is also what we feel when we are in doubt and when we are unsure. Apprehension is also fear.

How then can we cope or deal with this limiting factor in our lives? Fear doesn't have to limit you. I know when we are in our comfort zones we are afraid to try something new because it's different from the normalcy we have grown accustomed to. Even if it would mean would mean a drastic improvement in the quality of our lives. How else do you think overweight individuals keep losing their battles against being overweight? The situation is that it would be easier for them to grab that piece of pie than spend the next two hours trying to burn it off. Again the notion of instant gratification prevails. Breaking way from this norm isn't easy but you have to learn how. HERE IS HOW: LEARN TO USE FEAR TO YOUR ADVANTAGE. Notice I didn't say ignore your fears.

Use your fears to make you more attentive, to make you more aware of the situation. Learn to gauge the gravity of it as it presents to you and isolate contributing and non-contributing elements. Contributing elements are the cause and effect types, in other words they are what you get when you ask yourself, "why am I afraid of this?" Non-contributing elements have no relation to the present situation at hand but serve to distract you from honing in towards a solution or an option. They are the "what ifs", the doubts you experience, the background noise.

Learn to weigh your options and always take the path of least resistance. Don't make it harder on yourself by complicating matters. Keep your options open and leave room for last minute changes should the need arise. Be CONFIDENT that you CAN overcome and you WILL. Overcoming your fears take a lot of inner strength and the following pillars should provide the foundation you will need:

1. Be confident of your capabilities.

2. Trust in what you know and what you are familiar with. Don't stray towards uncertainty on a gamble.

3. Don't lose sight of your goal. Know what you are fighting for.

4. Will yourself to succeed.

5. Think of a white room with a small hole in the wall. You are sitting in the middle on a white chair. You get up towards that small hole and throw the following items into that hole; Worry, Apprehension, Doubt, and Negativity.

Overcoming your fears is never easy but it can be done. It takes time, the right mindset, and conditioning in your part to DEAL WITH YOUR FEARS and not RUN AWAY from them. Let me ask you this;

" How far could you have gone if you weren't afraid?"

Until our next post,folks. Stay tuned. Bigger and better things to come to make you FEEL BETTER TODAY and FEEL GOOD about yourself. Do take care of yourselves, and learn to love more as well as being kinder to the people around you. Surround yourself with positive energy and you will emit positive thoughts and do only positive actions. Again, thank you for your time. JowelMD signing off...