The festive season often brings joy—but it can also bring overwhelm, stress, and the feeling that everything is happening all at once. For professional women, especially real estate agents juggling clients, deadlines, and family commitments, it’s easy to feel pulled in every direction.
But what if there were a simple mindset shift that could turn even the most stressful moments into opportunities? What if every challenge, every curveball, held a hidden gift?
Let me share a story: The Farmer and the Horse
An old farmer had a horse that ran away. His neighbours rushed over, full of panic and judgment: “Such terrible luck!” they cried.
The farmer paused, took a quiet breath, and said: “Maybe yes, maybe no.”
He didn’t react from fear or jump to conclusions. In that calm breath, he activated what Shirzad Chamine calls the Sage perspective—the wiser, calmer, creative part of the brain.
A few days later, the horse returned, bringing three wild horses with it.
“What wonderful luck!” the neighbours exclaimed.
Once again, the farmer centred himself, feeling his feet on the ground and taking a slow breath. He said: “Maybe yes, maybe no.”
By leaving space for curiosity rather than judgment, he kept his mind calm and open.
Then, the farmer’s son tried to tame one of the wild horses. He was thrown off and broke his leg. The neighbours were horrified:
“Such bad luck! What a tragedy!”
The farmer, with hand on heart and a calm breath, responded: “Maybe yes, maybe no.”
A week later, soldiers came to recruit young men for war. Because the son’s leg was broken, he was spared. The neighbours celebrated:
“How lucky you are!”
And the farmer? He simply breathed, paused, and said: “Maybe yes, maybe no.”
The Sage Mind in Action
Shirzad Chamine’s Positive Intelligence teaches that our reactive Saboteur mind—the part that judges, worries, or tries to control—can hijack our clarity. But by activating the Sage mind, we can see the potential gift in every situation, even when it’s wrapped in difficulty.
The farmer naturally practiced the three steps Chamine recommends:
- Stop.
Pause instead of reacting with fear, judgment, or assumption. - Breathe.
A slow breath switches your brain from survival mode to Sage mode. - Choose the Sage Response.
Accept what is stay curious, and explore creative possibilities using your Sage powers: Empathize, Explore, Innovate, Navigate, Activate.
Every runaway horse, every broken bone, every unexpected turn became a seed of potential.
Why This Matters for Christmas
The holiday season can feel like chaos: client demands, family expectations, and end-of-year deadlines collide. Missed appointments, delayed contracts, or last-minute gifts can quickly spiral into stress.
Here’s the lesson for professional women:
- Pause before reacting. Take a breath before sending that email or answering that call.
- Ask yourself: “What is the gift here?” Could this be a chance to learn, connect, or innovate?
- Stay present and curious. Not everything is urgent, and not every setback is catastrophic.
By seeing the hidden gifts, we turn overwhelm into opportunity, tension into clarity, and chaos into calm.
Life doesn’t always announce its gifts upfront. Sometimes they’re wrapped in chaos, confusion, or loss. But when we pause, breathe, and choose Sage over Saboteur, we discover that everything can become a gift—even during the busiest, most stressful season of the year.
This Christmas, when your schedule is overflowing or a deal doesn’t go as planned, pause, take a breath, and ask yourself:
“What is the gift here?”
You might be surprised at what reveals itself.
“To all my wonderful readers—Merry Christmas! Wishing you a festive season of joy and a New Year 2026 filled with exciting opportunities, success, and well-earned, (non-negotiable) moments to recharge.”

