Why Holiday Sales Makes Me Hyperventilate
Short breath. Rising anxiety. Shoulders clenching.
That’s how I feel on Black Friday. And other commercialized holidays.
I know there are crazy sales out there. I mull over my wish list and dare to think…. should I venture into crazytown — or just check online?
But I need a shirt for my daughter for Monday, so I venture into Crazytown — determined to be cheerful and friendly. A frustrated lady yells (in her nicest way) at me for parking in the spot she wanted. I hunt through the children’s store for just the right white shirt my daughter needs. No luck. By the time I get back to my car, I’m drained and annoyed.
At home, I open my inbox. Every name of someone I subscribed to in the past 2 years beckons me to open their email. Their catchy headlines warn me each is trying to stake their claim on my wallet and attention, thinking I’m ready for an urgent deal even though I rarely buy on impulse.
I step into Facebook’s entrepreneurial world, and find more people making the most of their sales limelight. Others quietly stress out that they hadn’t prepared for the opportunity.
Maybe this tension is just me and you actually thrive in the adventure.
But it got me thinking about our desires.
Big sales. Social frenzy. Urgent opportunities.
These push us into considering things we never knew we needed. If your Fear of Missing Out has been lulled to sleep, weekends like this wake it up like a hungry bear from hibernation.
They also wave a flag to dreams and goals we’ve put on the Someday Shelf or the Do-Something Else Till I Get Unstuck Closet. And it works. I snatched up Jeff Goin’s Write a Best Seller course for $99 with minutes to spare, just so I could gain better momentum in making sense of the first draft of my book.
This tension doesn’t create a monster within us.
It reveals it.
Because you and I have core desires that need to be satisfied.
Belonging. Achievement. Stability. Freedom. Recognition.
My deep desires are peace and release. A peaceful heart no matter my circumstances or expectations. Release into more of whom I’m becoming and what she would accomplish.
These desires were meant to be filled. But if we don’t fully realize what or Who will truly meet these needs, we are attracted to what feels would satisfy the craving in the moment…
in our business
in our ministry
in our family life
in our writing
in our health
in our commitments
in the sales.
What are you REALLY craving today? Want to get in touch with something that will last much longer than a sale?
Pause a moment. Take two deep long breaths. And ask yourself this:
What would filling that craving bring you?
…and what would that give you?
…and what would THAT bring you?
Now… invite God to show you how He’s meeting THAT core need of yours already this week… and listen.
If this resonated, tap the clap button and drop a line to let me know how what this stirred in you. : )
