subject: 7 Tips to Survive the Holidays [print this page] 7 Tips to Survive the Holidays 7 Tips to Survive the Holidays
How many times have you told yourself at the beginning of the Holiday Season, "this year I am going to have it all together, and enjoy it more", but by the time the season was over you found that you had gotten stressed out and exhausted all over again?
Even though the Holidays should be a very special time for people, often it is not. Either due to high expectations that don't measure up or being over stressed, it can be hard to really enjoy this time of year.
Take steps now to prevent stress from the added Holiday urgency, so that you can set yourself up to succeed. With a little planning, change of thought, and practice, you can find the relief and enjoyment in this year's Holiday Season without maxing out your energy, schedule, or credit cards.
Plan Ahead/Simplify: A little bit of work, done over a larger period of time, beats a lot of work, done over a little bit of time.
Plan ahead and whittle down the extra activities and responsibilities to what will bring you the most joy. If it doesn't provide an emotional payoff that far outweighs the hassle, let it go.
Acknowledge Reality: Let go of expectations that things have to be just right before you can truly enjoy it or think it is special. Things often don't turn out as you expect them to, so learn to embrace life no matter how it shows up.
Nutrition/Diet: When you are feeling stressed, upset, overwhelmed, or just plan depressed, you may think eating a Christmas cookie or spiked eggnog will help out. It may feel like you are doing something to distract you or numb you, but it will not make it go away, and could add to the problem.
Learn to find new healthy ways to relax, and plan ahead for possible temptations. Be sure to have a healthy snack or a meal before a Holiday party, so you don't go overboard once there. Do not go really hungry to a party, no matter what they are serving.
Exercise: Exercise is one of the best ways to help your body beat stress. Keep up a little exercise during the Holidays and you will actually have more energy for doing all the other activities that occur.
Money: During the Holidays you have the added expenses of gifts, decorating, travel, food and entertainment. Know what's important and what's not. Set a budget for the Holidays and then stick to is as much as possible. Remember you can't buy happiness with an avalanche of gifts.
Assistance: Holidays can be a happy time, but if you feel sadness or grief because you can't be with someone for whatever reason, remember it is okay to have these feelings. Reach out and get the help that could make a difference, both during and after the Holidays. Help can look like a friend or relative that might help you feel supported. If family or friends aren't enough, consider counseling, which can be very helpful to get to the core reasons of the difficulty and learning new coping techniques.
Appreciate/Give: If you find yourself getting stressed out over a project, stop and think, what is it that you want to accomplish? Ask yourself, what can I be thankful for and will this bring joy to me or others?
Getting to the basic level of appreciation and giving to others, allows you to realize that it is the giving of the gift, not how pretty or expensive it is that matters. It also is a good time to reach out and help someone else.
Do you still feel stuck and stressed out, no matter how much you apply these tips? Most of these tips just require some focus and will power, but if you still are doing the things that keep you from moving forward, then you may be dealing with an old program in your sub-conscious mind that is keeping you stuck. Your old programs will win out 90 to 98% over a period of time. Fortunately, science has learned there are a variety of modalities that can help you install new programs into your sub-conscious mind that are easy and effective.
