4 Ways to be Present this Holiday Season (Monday Moments ep. 211)

Live Inspired Podcast with John O'Leary

John O'Leary

Self-improvement, Bestsellingauthor, Education, Dailyinspiration, Society & Culture, Liveinspired, Johnoleary, Inspiration, Joebuck, Inspiredliving, Onfire, Relationships

4.9 • 672 Ratings

🗓️ 16 December 2019

⏱️ 7 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Join me every Monday for a quick burst of inspiration on our “Monday Moment” segments.

It's easy to get so overwhelmed by what is on our agenda that we forget to enjoy any of it, especially during this time of year. Today I share 4 things I do to keep myself and my family present during this holiday season:

Make a list each. Each morning, I make a list of the three most important things I need to do. Make a list of what’s most important for you; then be bold enough to do it.

Set an alarm. One feature, perhaps surprisingly, I use with great effectiveness is the alarm. When it goes off, it is my reminder to refocus on what actually matters. I have it set to go off at 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Regardless of what I am doing, I step away for 60 seconds of quiet reflection; quiet time helps me to be thankful for what matters. This allows me to step back into “work” with renewed focus.

Forget your phone on purpose. When I get home at the end of a trip or at the end of the day, I put my phone on silent. This allows me to engage with the people that matter most. Instead of responding to every beep, tweet, and ring, I am able to savor every laugh, smile and moment.

Stop being so serious! I remind myself that the world will not fall apart if I don’t accomplish the task at hand. I take a moment to remember that my family’s lives, my travel, my work, my problems are not the only ones that matter. This gives me perspective to realize I am just one person in more than 7 billion on earth… this doesn’t just take the pressure off, but it also drives me to strive to make a greater difference for all.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Well, hello, my friends, and welcome to the Live Inspired podcast with John O'Leary for this week's Monday moment.
0:15.5	We create these short episodes to help start your week on fire, baby, with a quick burst of inspiration.
0:24.4	I'm going to get into that quick burst in a moment by beginning with a story from three
0:29.5	years ago, Christmas morning. Beth and I had worked diligently to get the house, ready to get
0:36.1	the kids, ready to get the presents wrapped,
0:38.0	to get them under the tree, to go to bed at 3.30 in the morning, to have little ones make their way
0:43.9	into our room three hours later, shake us awake, bring us downstairs, we read from scripture,
0:50.0	we open up the presents, drink our coffee, wipe the sleep out of our eyes. And I remember Patrick,
0:56.0	he's my second born back then he would have been maybe eight or so years old. After he opened up
1:01.7	his last present, he looked up at me and he said, Dad, is that all? Is that all? We did all this work.
1:11.1	We got all the presents on the list.
1:12.6	We wrapped them beautifully.
1:13.7	We set them under the tree.
1:14.8	We went to bed exhausted.
1:15.9	We get up even more exhausted.
1:17.6	And now you are asking us, is that all?
1:21.7	Is that all?
1:23.1	But I think within Patrick's question is some wisdom.
1:27.3	My friends, this is the busiest time of the year.
1:32.0	This is the busiest time of the year. We race through the end of our work season. We race through
1:37.7	the holiday season, whether that's Hanukkah, Christmas, the start of the new year. And if we are
1:43.6	not careful, we will get to the end of it.
	...

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