Merry Fixmas

As we enter the alleged period of festivities, I wonder how much stress and strain is unnecessary inflicted on us all at this time of year.

The office parties, Christmas presents for people that have everything, the costs of Christmas shopping, parking, crowds, queues, drunken people that don’t normally drink, and trying to get business done before the close down period and all that jazz.

When I was a child, many decades ago, due to the abject poverty we lived in, we didn’t exchange gifts as we couldn’t afford them. However, the highlight of Christmas was buying the Radio Times and circling all of the programmes to watch as a family, not worrying about going out or getting up for school. A true feeling of joy and happiness, which is what Christmas should be all about.

Christmas later on in life turned into being purely commercially orientated, bigger, and better costlier presents. I truly disliked it, turning myself into a Humbug. The incredible pressures placed on families to get into debt just to pay it off in time for the following year.

Now having small children and a grandchild, it is, as it should be, all about them. Looking forward to the magic of Christmas, where the joy on young, innocent faces can brighten the hardest of hearts.

Reflecting on the year, it is easy for me to become distracted by all of the challenges, issues and problems experienced, and I must admit it has been a truly challenging year. One of my team members actually said recently that “Ammar you have so much luck, it is a pity that it is all bad!”

However, it is easy and natural to focus on the negatives, something I usually don’t do, being and believing in the power of positivity. And there have been some great things happened this year, with a particular highlight last month of collecting an Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award in London. This was a great demonstration of our amazing Armed Forces and a celebration of the incredible employers that support them.

Christmas is also a time when sadly people feel as though they need to pretend to be something they are not, and generally we appear to become more sensitive, and friends and family telling one another they need fixing. However, people don’t need fixing, no one is average, and we just need to be true to ourselves.

Authenticity is one the greatest assets we have. And we all have something, one thing, which we are great at. Being ourselves. So as we look forward to Christmas this year, and before I start stressing about all of the things associated with all of the usual Christmas challenges, I intend to focus on family time in the traditional way. But also using the time to focus on the positive aspects of life and concentrating on enjoying the company of the wonderful family I am blessed to have. I don’t need fixing and I am just going to be me. Love and peace to one and all.