Dealing With the "Holidaze"

The holidays are almost here and the stress is pouring in from all sides. If you are waking up on edge and going to sleep the same way, you may not be humming along to the holiday song “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!” Instead you may be afflicted with the “holidaze”, a condition of over-stress, over-worry, over-eating, and over-reacting. This joyful season can be a difficult time of year on many levels. The key to surviving and enjoying yourself is to step back, take a deep breath, and begin making better choices about how you are reacting to your stresses.

Here are some ideas to keep you humming along during the day and snoozing in bed like a hibernating bear, instead of singing the blues during a sleepless night. Use my TOP TEN TIPS to stop coping and instead ENJOY the holidays:

1. FOCUS ON FUN! Expect pleasure, not perfection and you’ll draw it to you. What you think about, you bring about. It’s a great time to enjoy, not stress.
2. SIMPLIFY! Enjoyment comes from simple camaraderie. Most people will never notice all the details you are worrying about. Plan but keep it simple!
3. START NEW TRADITIONS. Grown children with families or new blended families need flexibility.  You can’t make everyone happy! Think outside the box (wrapped or not)!
4. FOCUS ON NOW. Enjoy today, enjoy now. Live in the present moment instead of the unpredictable future. All you need is ‘now!’
5. ‘NO’ IS NOT A FOUR LETTER WORD, USE IT! If you are miserable, you aren’t helping anyone.  It’s okay to put yourself first. Take time out to rebalance.
6. DOWNSIZE YOUR PARTIES. If you are running around serving a big crowd, you don’t have time to interact and enjoy.  Make it smaller and add more quality instead of quantity.
7. DELEGATE. You can’t do it alone, well, you can, but you’ll be totally stressed out. Is this what you want? Letting others help let’s them practice giving, too!
8. EXPECT LESS, NOT MORE. When you boil it down, it’s just a few hours of your life. But don’t be isolated. Plan ahead of time to be with other people or to volunteer and serve others.
9. EXPRESS FEELINGS IN MORE POSITIVES. Focus on the positive attributes/remembrances of people/family, not their shortcomings. Yes, they do have them!
10. RESCHEDULE PARTIES FOR JANUARY! How about easing tight schedules and extending the fun by hosting a Winter Festival party in January.