The holiday season can bring you just as much stress as it can bring you joy. Now take a moment and:
Close your eyes.
Take a deep breath.
What do you see?
What do you smell?
What is your vision of this Christmas season? What will you choose to focus on? There are some simple yet effective strategies to help you breathe easier this holiday season to feel more happiness.
1. Keep gifts simple
Gifts can be so simple but it’s easy to over complicate them. People ask themselves “What if they don’t like it?” ALL. THE. TIME. The way I look at it, gifts are about giving and receiving more than the actual gift itself. A person wants to show someone that they care about them and appreciate them. If they give a gift out of obligation, well that’s a whole other blog post. So this person takes their time to buy or make a gift. We all know that time is a limited resource and is oh so very precious. Then the person receiving the gift has two choices: they can be appreciative of the gesture, regardless of if they actually like the gift, or they can choose to resent the gesture because all they can see is a gift they don’t like. This would be no different than a child giving their parent a special rock they found and the parent dismissing the gift instead of recognizing the gesture and meaning behind it. Be kind guys!
There are three different types of gifts you can give someone: a gift that is meaningful to them, a gift to share something you love with them or a gift that is consumable. And there are different reasons to give each of them. For those people who are near and dear to you and you spend a lot of time connecting with – these are the people who should receive a meaningful gift. When you connect with people, such as your kids, your spouse, your best friends, it should be easy to know what’s meaningful to them. Then there’s the people who also mean a lot to you but for whatever reason you don’t connect with them very often. These are the people who should receive a gift where you can share something you love with them or a gift that is consumable. What do I mean by consumable? Something they can eat or drink, something they can enjoy and then get rid of, or an experience.
2. Focus on the positive
I know that getting together with family can cause all sorts of anxiety for some people but this doesn’t have to be! Focus on the positive! When you have family members that are critical of you and try to make you take on their emotions, this can cause for some uncomfortable situations. But – fear them no longer! I’m going to let you in on a little secret. People who are critical of you are even more critical of themselves. As long as you are very clear on who you are in your mind, this should have no effect on you. What they need most right now is grace and understanding, and most of all some love.
No matter what – you can always find something good and positive about a person so keep looking until you do. And then once you do, keep your focus there. This will help you more than you can even imagine. What you focus on magnifies. And try to be grateful that you have family, something not everyone has and can often be taken for granted.
3. Take care of yourself
So often, we are so busy trying to get the presents bought, the Christmas cards ready to be sent out and the house decorated that we forget the most important thing, which is to take care of ourselves. Yes, you still need to get enough sleep. Yes, you still need to exercise. Yes, you still need to eat to feel good. Yes, you still need some downtime. Christmas will not be ruined if your cards aren’t mailed out until New Years or you don’t put up ALL of your decorations this year. What matters most is that you are happy and healthy.
This holiday season, I wish you all a joyous celebration, though most of it likely on video calls. Thank you COVID-19. It’s not gonna get me down though. Make sure you tell the people you love know what they mean to you because you never know when they will be gone. Time is so precious, so I encourage you all to make the most of the time you have here with those that matter. And don’t forget to love the person that matters the most too. That’s YOU!
What’s another strategy that helps you get through the holiday season?