Clare Josa | Author And Keynote Speaker

UK's Foremost Imposter Syndrome Expert, International Keynote Speaker & 8x Author

holiday season advice

Want To Give Gorgeous Christmas Gifts, But Your Budget Won’t Stretch? Here Are Some Ideas.

Inspirational Messages

Welcome to your De-Stress Your Christmas Advent Calendar count-down – day 18.

Today we’re looking at finding a solution to feeling broke – but still wanting to give people fabulous Christmas gifts.

It’s that all-too-familiar feeling – knowing you want to splurge to show people how much you love them, but also knowing you don’t want to wake up with a massive financial hangover in January.

The shops are overflowing with beautifully-packaged gifts and glitzy websites promise your loved-ones instant happiness, if only you click the ‘add to cart’ button and let them ship you yet another expensive must-have.

Resisting the temptation can feel hard.

So here are some ideas to help you – and I want to start with a ‘duh!’ moment reminder:

If anyone judges you for the gift you give them, it says more about them than about you.

Some quick tips:

  • Are areas where you could cut back without anyone noticing, so you can more easily afford those special treats?
  • Could you manage people’s expectations? And remember: “failing” to “keep up with the Joneses” is less embarrassing than having the extreme of those same neighbours seeing a bailiff pop round, come the spring…
  • Could you set yourself a budget to help you get more creative and get maximum value for your money?
  • Could you make some of the gifts, instead of buying them? You don’t have to be super-creative – and the internet is full of ideas.
  • Could you come up with ideas that don’t cost cash – for example a voucher for a baby-sitting evening? Or an offer to clean the car once a month? Or a voucher for a home-cooked candlelit dinner? Or a voucher for an afternoon of gardening? You know who you are giving to – I’m quite sure there would be things they would love that wouldn’t cost you physical cash. And it might mean much more to them than an impulse-buy from a shop shelf.

A simple gift, chosen with love and given from the heart, will mean more than a glitzy gift, once the Christmas fuss has died down.

It’s Not About How Much You Spend.
It’s about the love that goes into choosing the present…

Try not to get trapped in the stress of “but I’ve given so-and-so something worth that much and I now have to buy something for their partner, worth the same amount.”

It’s not a competition.

Buy your gift (or make it!) with love and forget about the price. It’s the love that counts.

And if it doesn’t for that person, you probably shouldn’t be buying them a present anyway…

I’m curious: how could you find a way around this? Are you stuck in the not-enough-budget trap? Whose expectations have you been trying to fulfil? Here’s where to share:

Click to share your answers on Facebook

Being cheeky – how about helping them to change their life?

arrow-no-bgI’m being really cheeky here – but I’ve written some books that people tell me have helped them to really create shifts in their lives – and that is one of the most potent gifts you can share with someone.
Books really pack a punch on the value-for-money scale. Here’s where you can find mine – and there’s still time to get them delivered before Christmas: Clare Josa’s Books
If you enjoyed this article, then here’s where you can find the rest of your Advent Calendar – and scroll down to register for a free quick reminder, so you catch each instalment – AND a gift copy of my book: 101 Ways To De-Stress Your Christmas.

I would LOVE to hear how you got on with today’s message, via the comments.

See you tomorrow with Day 19!

With love, Namaste,
CJ Sig

Day 9 ~ If What You’re Doing Isn’t Working… How To Avoid The First Signs Of Christmas Insanity

Inspirational Messages

Today we’re looking at a habit that Einstein once said was the first sign of insanity, yet most of us do it during the Holiday Season!

Do you keep doing the same thing, but expecting different results?

It always makes me giggle whenever I go to London and see foreign visitors following someone who has used an Oyster card through the underground barriers.
The visitor will invariably watch the Oyster card user in front of them carefully, then take their manual tube ticket and place it on the Oyster card reader, expecting the barrier to let them through.
When it doesn’t, they look confused and try again.
Only when someone comes to offer help do they learn that their ticket goes into the slot on the front of the barrier instead.

What they were doing wasn’t working, but they kept on doing it. And we all do it!

We even have a saying about it:
“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again.”

But that only works if you get flexible.

If what you’re doing isn’t working and you keep doing it, it’s likely to keep not working.

Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is clearly not rational, but it’s something we’re all very good at. And when it comes to times like Christmas, we often end up unconsciously repeating the very behaviour that caused things to go wrong last year – but hoping for different results.

The bottom line is: if you keep doing the same things, you’ll keep getting the same results.

If everyone threw a tantrum because they hated sprouts last year, chances are they’ll do it again this year.

If you didn’t enjoy Christmas last year because you didn’t voice your needs and just expected people to magically guess what they were and meet them, what might happen again this year?

If you collapsed, exhausted, on Christmas Eve, just wishing it could all be over because you didn’t let enough people help you, then that’s what you are likely to experience again this year – unless you do something different!

If what you’re doing isn’t working, try doing something different…

Go on, I dare you!

It might not be as scary as you think.

I’m curious: where in your life can you see yourself running this pattern? Which changes could you make – today – and what impact might they have? Here’s where to share:

Click to share your answers on Facebook

Want Some Extra Help? Want To FINALLY Break That Habit Next Year?

arrow-no-bgIf you want to make breaking that old habit one of your New Year Resolutions, you might want to join me for the webinar I’m running to help you make your New Year Resolutions ROCK this year: Masterclass: Why New Year Resolutions Don’ Work – And What You Can Do Instead.
If you enjoyed this article, then here’s where you can find the rest of your Advent Calendar – and scroll down to register for a free quick reminder, so you catch each instalment – AND a gift copy of my book: 101 Ways To De-Stress Your Christmas.

I would LOVE to hear how you got on with today’s message, via the comments.

See you tomorrow with Day 10!

With love, Namaste,
CJ Sig