Thriving Through the Holidays
The holiday season is shorter this year and if it seems as if Christmas chaos started earlier, you’d be right.
Year after year, so many of us get completely stressed out trying to make the perfect holiday, only to be disappointed when what we imagined didn’t come to fruition. The reason this happens is that we’re denying what our reality is and using “magical” thinking that somehow things will be different this year. (If you’re stressing about handling the holidays at work, you can find tips here.)
What if this year, you decided to be open to making some changes?
Here’s the deal: There isn’t an app for this and there aren’t “5 easy steps…” to making the perfect holiday.
The truth: You can create the kind of holiday you really want by tuning in to what’s really important to you.
Start New Family Traditions
Family Traditions are great until they are not.
Families grow and evolve with each generation. Some traditions are easy to continue like baking cookies together or Secret Santa gifts.
Others, like the whole family getting together every Christmas Day, are not. Kids grow up and get married – which means considering the traditions of others. Kids move away to other states, have babies that don’t travel easily, or we have parents that don’t travel well or aren’t in good health.
Perhaps you don’t have family close by or they are no longer on this earth. Create your own traditions with friends or coworkers. Adopt a family in need. Share yourself with others.
Change Your Mindset
Perhaps you do have a family but are not close to them. Let’s not judge ourselves and put pressure to gather with them and pretend that everything is fine. (Because that never works well). No shoulding on ourselves anymore.
Maybe you don’t agree with the lifestyle of a family member. What if this year, you got curious instead of disapproving? What could you learn about them?
New Gift Giving-Think Outside the Box
Some people love shopping/wrapping/giving and others dread it. What if you pared down the number of gifts and chose a charity to donate the remainder of what you would have spent. Or maybe giving an experience instead of an item is just the ticket.
Ask for What You Want
Instead of making assumptions on what this holiday needs to look like, have a family meeting and ask each person what’s really important to them. See if you can come to a consensus on how to create your own holiday that suits your family values. Give yourself permission to do something different.
Have the conversation. While it may feel uncomfortable at first, it may be the richest conversation you’ll have and I guarantee you’ll discover things you didn’t know or you’ll find that others feel the same.
The importance of the holiday season (besides the religious views if you have them) are finding time to prioritize family and those you love. It doesn’t matter the day or the location. It matters that it happens. It matters that we take the time, focus our attention in those moments on those that matter most, and say “I love you” not just in your words, but in your actions.
Are you looking to make some changes in how you approach stress, work and life in general? Not getting where you want to go? Schedule a call with me today to learn more about how coaching is the key to creating the career and life you crave.