We’ve just entered the final quarter of the year. That last stretch were everyone will be vying for your attention, adding demands and deadlines, where expectations are at an all-time high.

The pressure is mounting from ourselves and for ourselves. Will we get everything done? Will everything be done right? Will it meet everyone’s expectations? Will I be able to glide into the festive season this time without feeling overwhelmed and run-ragged?

It’s interesting where for many of us the season change brings a new lease on life, fresh ideas, a sense of renewal… and then also the high performance of the next 90 days for the end-of-year push results in a slump at the finish line where we land crumpled and over indulged wondering what day it is between Christmas and New Year.

We make promises of healthy eating, resolve to get out of debt, set goals to travel, and start businesses, or finally pick up that hobby we always wanted to, and yet year after year we find ourselves back where we began, at the end scrambling to get done.

What if it’s more about how we end then how we begin? What if this year we did things differently? What if it’s more about taking things off our plate than adding to them?
How on earth do I take things off my plate now? You may be asking…

Boundaries.

Making conscious decisions that are for your betterment, upholding them with yourself first, and then holding others to your expectations.

Sounds easy right? And I realise that we have a lifetime of practice overriding our boundaries and what we believe and know to be good for us in the pursuit of being accepted, and not letting other people down – but we let ourselves down again and again.