When Santa Had a Tough Year

Days before Christmas, at the Sharper Image store I managed, two stock guys quit to return to Ireland. Working long shifts, I had lost whatever holiday spirit I had left.

Rushing down the stairs to get an item from our remote stockroom, a mother and her three children blocked my path. I asked them to move. I wasn’t gracious. I was busy.

Minutes later, they wandered into the store. We were slammed, and I knew they weren’t buying anything. As they left, I heard the child say he hoped Santa would bring him a remote-control car.

His mother put her arm around him. “I’m sure you’ll like whatever Santa brings you. Don’t forget, Santa’s had a tough year.”

That line stayed with me.

I went back to work, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Not because of what she said, but because of what I had missed before she said it.

Nothing about my day had changed. The staffing problem was still there. The store was still busy. I was still tired. I still had numbers to hit.

The only thing that changed was how I was seeing it.

My Santa hadn’t had a tough year at all.

I had a great job. A strong team. A good life. I had just been too busy and under too much pressure to notice.

In moments like that, it isn’t the situation that limits us. It’s where our attention goes. When everything feels urgent, our focus collapses onto what’s in the way.

Sometimes, stopping for a moment is all it takes to see things more clearly.  

The next time you feel rushed or irritated, try pausing before you respond and see what else you notice. 

As a friend of mine once told me, pressure like mine was a luxury.

On the walk to the train that night, I dropped something into every red bucket I passed. I couldn’t help that family, but I left the day different from how I entered it. Now that’s a holiday gift.

What if this week, you paused long enough to see a pressure moment differently?

Wishing a meaningful Hanukkah to those celebrating, and a peaceful and productive week to everyone.