Jean Edelman Word of the Week: TIME

As You Approach the Holidays, Protect Your Time and Choose Wisely

Jean Edelman: Great to be with you this week. This week I want to talk about our time. This is the one commodity that we need to cherish and protect. We are headed into that time of year where we get overwhelmed, overstressed, overcommitted, overspending, overeating, over, over, over. It's too much because we're trying to cram so much life into these last few months or weeks of this year. And we only have limited time. We need to protect our time. We need to choose wisely who, where and what we are giving our energy and time to. It is okay to say no. What is so important?

And if we really stop to think about it, you know what? The earth will continue spinning even if we say no, even if we don't show up to something, even if we don't participate in something, it's okay. I'm giving us all permission to say no. And really think about these last few months of the year and where we want to spend our time and who we want to spend our time with.

And so this week is short and sweet, and the word of the week is TIME.

The T is to Tend

To care for. Care for ourselves enough to not overcommit, to not overeat, to not overspend, because then we spend the rest of the year just compensating for that. We need to tend to what is important and what has meaning to us.

The I is for Immerse

To become deeply involved. When we are overextended, we are skimming on the surface of life. When we choose what is important for us, we can then devote our time and be deeply engaged in it and have more meaningful conversations and spend more time doing what we love. Immerse ourselves in the people that we are with, make sure that they matter to us.

The M is for Mindful

To be attentive, aware, and alert. Be mindful of how we're spending our time, Choose wisely what is best suiting us, what feels good. Listen to our intuition. Do we really need to do that? Do we really need to go out and do this? What are we doing to really be mindful? Be mindful of what we're eating. It's the end of the year and there's so many traditions and so many foods. While we don't need to eat all of it at one time, being mindful of every aspect so that our health stays in check and stays in balance. Remember, we talk about balance all the time and when we over anything, we're out of balance. And so bringing that mindfulness back is so important.

And the E is to Enjoy

To savor and appreciate. When we are protective of our time, we can enjoy where we are and who we are with and what we are doing because we're not running to the next thing. We can stay, we can engage, we can share, and we can have enjoyment in our moments together. 

And so just enjoy and appreciate for where we are and what we're doing. Take care of ourselves, take care of our time. Remember the balance as we go into these last few months of the year. Have a great week, everyone.