Distraction-Proof® Advisor Ideas

Year-end tax consequences, a crazy travel schedule, political unrest, and a child who just couldn’t wait.
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You might think I’m describing your Christmas this year, but, in fact, I’m detailing what really was the first Christmas.

It was the time of year when Mary and Joseph needed to travel to Bethlehem. Because of a nationwide census that was decreed, they had to go back to their hometown, Bethlehem, traveling while Mary was nine months pregnant, with no GPS to aid navigation. They were going to take this journey on a donkey. This was their year-end, so to speak. This was their first Christmas. It was the birth of Jesus.

You can imagine everything that must have been going through their minds. And after that first Christmas, so to speak, they weren’t going to have peace and quiet to gather their thoughts. They were going to have a bunch of angels turn up, bright lights, and a load of shepherds all of a sudden turn up on their “doorstep” at the stable, talking and worshiping about what had just happened.

It was a very different scene from what we experience on our Christmas Day. Even so, our schedules can be be hectic, and I want to encourage you to take some time to rest. This year, with Christmas falling on a Sunday, chances are you’re going to have a pretty light Friday. Then there’s Saturday, Sunday (Christmas Day), and Monday is going to be a public holiday as well. We’ve got four days. Yes, households will be a little more frenetic than usual—I get it. However, sometime during those four days, take some time to deliberately pause and reflect. Before you start thinking about the New Year, simply take stock of where you’re at right now. Catch your breath. What do you have to be thankful for? There’ll be things that you may have just bypassed in the rush of the year. Now is a good time to sit and be still and think about those things. Be grateful for them.

I’m not going to encourage you to be reaching out to clients and give you an activity or an objective to take care of. Instead, be mindful and present with your family and with yourself. Reflect back and simply get some rest. We’ve had a lot going on this year, and there’s still a lot that’s got to play out over the course of the next year or so. Don’t worry about that. Just take some time to rest, decompress, and catch your breath. It’s Christmastime. Enjoy this time of year—a very special time of year!

Have a wonderful, very merry Christmas! I look forward to bringing you another Distraction-Proof Advisor Idea…who knows when? Sometime next year, so don’t even worry about that. Have a merry Christmas, everyone!