That time of year is here where it's easy to lose our heads with all the parties and festivities.
My advice, enjoy it and embrace the season. Surprised you?
All year you have been working hard towards your goals and striving towards your ambitions. A little break, with a bit of fun will do you good and will help your performance in the long-term, allowing you to relax and mentally refresh.
Giving yourself the chance to mentally recharge, will boost your mood, your decisions, lower stress levels and make you more productive in the long run. Slogging through and increasing your stress levels may get more work done in the present moment and some people even pride themselves on it. But, will that work be of a high quality? We want top quality, not mediocre, not basic!
Some people struggle to let go and enjoy themselves, completely consumed by their work and live in fear. Life is more than just your goals and ambitions.
Sure, get things done that are absolutely vital towards achieving your goals. Weigh it up, can this wait? Is this vital? Make the right choice.
Now, others will let go way too much, undoing a lot of the graft they have put in. Rein it in! This isn't about going crazy, this is about balance. You need laughter in your life, as I was taught, laughter is brain juice; and it is, laughter increases the production of your happy hormone, serotonin. Make sure you get a lot of it during the festive season, one thing that you can indulge in and can't get enough of.
At the same time, you MUST stay on your path towards your goal, always!
What would be the point of enjoying all the festivities while your ambitions are going backwards? Making it harder for yourself to get back on your path and even more work to do once you do. That isn’t going to help anyone and isn’t peak performance. Make the festive season work for you, boost you and your recovery.
Always ask yourself these questions, will it effect my ambition? My performance? Will my goal suffer? If it's going to then make the smart call and leave it alone, if isn't going to then go ahead. Balance and compromise are the true keys here.
Make festivities part of your weekly plan, that way you can prioritise what goes where and stay on your path.
Embrace every minute with your friends, family and loved ones. Remember, not everyone is so fortunate to be able to.
Have a laugh, have some fun, enjoy the season and get ready for the new year.
Nathan Douglas - Peak Performance Coach and Double Olympian.
Feel good about passing this on to others that will also benefit.