Have you ever noticed how much easier and even joyful it is do work for a friend compared to you job. Do you remember how wonderful it felt the first time your boyfriend or girlfriend gave you a birthday gift? Even the first time you gave them a gift it was more satisfying than gifts given well into the relationship.
What makes these experiences more enjoyable is that they are all more likely to have been motivated by desire and not obligation. Obligation can take the fun out of things. Expectations can be boring, deliberate and not very surprising. The feeling that comes with doing something that you want to do is inspirational and to receive an unexpected gift is much more moving.
Sure obligation and dependable expectation have their qualities, but too often they distance us from the realization that nobody really has to do anything for us. They want to do it. Moreover, we want to do things for and with others too. However, when our gifts become routine services done on certain dates of the year with specific expectations we can lose our connection with the joy of giving and sharing and helping. Take back your autonomy. Make what you do for the holidays be things that you want to do not what you have to do. Perhaps just changing things up will do it. Do less. Ship it all together, (Haha there’s a challenge.) Most of all try to realize again that you don’t have to do these things and neither do others have to be with you…… they want to be.