A Passion Point to Ponder…

12 Wishes for Christmas, not the 12 days of Christmas.

The 12 Days of Christmas is a famous carol, but not one of which I am particularly fond.

I mean, who wants eight maids a milking in their dining room? Or even ten lords a leaping?? So, I have been pondering, as befits my passion points to ponder, and have concluded that my gift to you would be 12 Wishes of Christmas that are strategies proven to be beneficial to many over the past 25 years.

First wish: that your health improves in 2019. In my view, nothing is more important than your health. The Hungarian language is very precise and its word for ‘health’ literally means wholeness. I wish for you ‘wholeness’. I have never met anyone who is in perfect health, so improvement is always available.

Second wish: that your relationships improve in 2019. As with the First wish, every relationship can improve, none of them is perfect.

Third wish: that your self-awareness increases. As Socrates famously said: ‘the unexamined life is not worth living’. It is of great benefit for you to spend time examining your life and becoming more aware of the complexity of your being.

Fourth wish: that your ability to handle your stress is well-honed. Your stress is caused by your resistance. When you reduce resistance, you reduce stress. Too much stress will kill you. Too little stress will kill you: you die of boredom! So, create the appropriate stress for yourself through control of your resistance.

Fifth wish: that your passions are clear to you, and that if they are not, then you create the resolve to discover them.

Sixth wish: that you remove yourself from environments or people that want to stomp on your passions.

Seventh wish: that the spiritual elements of your life play a significant part in your life. There are 10 spiritual elements, beginning with the letter ‘F’, that are a useful guide to keep you on track, the first four of which are:· Family· Friends· Faith· Freedom.

Eighth wish: that you accept the proven principle that a human being’s major, long-term reward for solving problems is not peace, satisfaction, or achievement, rather, it is BIGGER PROBLEMS! You are rewarded for your excellence by attracting more, and bigger, problems. The more skilled you become, the bigger will be the problems that you attract. That’s how you grow. That’s the only way you can grow. So, choose to love your problems rather than resisting them.

Ninth wish: that you learn the secret to happiness. Happiness is NOT the absence of problems. The only group of people that I have been able to identify with no problems are dead people. If you are alive, you have problems. But, there are happy people: therefore, it is possible to be happy in the midst of problems. I have learnt the secret to happiness, and it’s contained in four words: ‘Choose to be happy!’

Tenth wish: that you remain hungry to keep learning and developing in 2019. If you are not learning and developing, thereby growing, you are dying. For short periods, you can lie dormant, but if you are dormant for too long, you will pay a big price.

Eleventh wish: that you are able to access your courage to speak your truth, to exercise your freedom of speech. The Banking Royal Commission is uncovering many instances of poor behaviour in large corporations. My lengthy experience shows that most of these instances would disappear if more people spoke up rather than shut up.

Twelfth wish: that you have fun. Life is a gift. I have found most people take it far too seriously. That’s why they are unhealthy, stressed, worried and unhappy. Look for fun elements in everything that you choose, passionately, to do.

That’s it.

Your twelve gifts.

I hope they inspire you in some way during 2019.

Charles Kovess is Australasia’s Passion Provocateur and Co-Founder of Julie Parker Practice Success. Charles is a successful businessman, team leader, professional speaker and executive coach. He uses these extensive and complementary skills in a dynamic and passionate way to facilitate powerful learnings. He is a transformational, inspirational high-energy speaker and facilitator, who inspires through his passion for life, and helps organisations build world-class teams based on integrity, trust, and commitment. You can learn more about Charles via his website and contact him directly via email, charles@kovess.com