We all know that April just isn’t just about Easter eggs, spring break, and the promise of summer. April 15 is creeping up and just about everyone knows what that means – TAXES.
As the saying goes, the only things for sure in this lifetime are death and taxes. Every taxpayer has some relationship with April 15. Maybe we’re proud that we went to the accountant weeks ago or that we’ve already gotten our refund. Maybe we’ve finally nailed down a workable system to keep all of our receipts in order and plugging in the numbers will be a slam-dunk.
But for many, this is a nail biting, anxiety-inducing time of year. The date is creeping up on us like a dreaded root canal. No way to get out of it, and there’s still so much to do! Some of us do a blitz. Others whittle away at the gathering of information and calculate numbers to insert in the boxes.
Fear is the natural reaction to threats to our survival. It’s also related to issues about time and money so it’s no surprise, taxes can bring up gigantic amounts of fear. Fear of a possible audit. Fear that we owe the government some (or a lot) of our hard-earned money. Fear that we won’t get finished in time.
What’s the best thing to do? Shiver and quiver, of course. Because if we don’t move the fear energy out of our bodies, we have a tendency to distort the reality and make it into a big overwhelming deal.
After shaking and shivering the fear out, the idea is to stay specific. Interrupt the worry. Don’t jump to worst case scenario. Say over and over, “One thing at a time.” “I can do this.” Then you can break the big task into small doable units and keep your focus on what you need to do next.
While no one (except an accountant perhaps) loves to deal with taxes, it’s one of the tradeoffs we get for living where we do. Focus on gratitude with each step, and watch how the process gradually becomes easier.
