Happy Holidays?!?
Or are they?
For many people this time of year can be stressful and or challenging on many fronts. What would it take for you to have a truly happy holiday that you enjoy and that works for you?
Here are some tips and tools for helping you truly have a Happy Holiday:
1
Stop taking on other people's stuff
How much of the stress, anxiety, discomfort etc. that you are aware of during the holidays is actually yours? Could you just be aware of and picking up on everyone else's stuff and thinking that it's yours? Whether or not you realize it you are a whole lot more aware, connected and tuned-in than you probably realize. So what do you do about it? Ask "Who does this belong to" for any thought, feeling emotion or sensation that you're not delighted about experiencing. Watch how much easier and lighter and more spacious you become when you acknowledge that what you're aware of might not actually be yours...
2
Lay off the pressure and expectations
How much pressure do you put on yourself this time of year? How many hopes and expectations do you pin on the holidays? How much are you pushing for your idea of how it "SHOULD BE"? How much are you trying to get it perfect? What if you could let go of all that? What if there isn't a perfect or right way for your holiday to go? What if you could be present and aware and tap into the magic rather than trying to create a particular structure or form? Some of my best holidays are the ones in which I put zero pressure and expectation on myself and just chose to engage with what felt fun, light and easy and that brought me joy. Because isn't that what this time of year is mean to be about? Fun, Joy, light, peace, connection and celebration? How much do we miss that with our pressures and expectations?
3
Choose for YOU
What would make YOUR holiday a happy one this year? How much are you working to make everyone else happy? How much do you include yourself in that equation? What's one choice or adjustment you could make about what you're doing or how you're doing it that would contribute to your happiness? If you're not happy, are the people you're trying to make happy really happy? What else is possible when you put you back in the equation?
4
Cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude
This one goes right along with pressures and expectations, because if you can stop pressuring yourself around how things should be happening, you have greater capacity to receive what is. If you have no expectation, then you'll be more able and willing to receive it all, even the little things, and just be grateful. In this very moment, what do you have to be grateful for? If you're feeling the stress or pressure or angst or whatever else is going on, how would your world and your experience change if you stopped yourself in the middle of all of it and just found something you are grateful for? Do you have more space, ease and peace or less? You wouldn't choose that for what reason?
5
Put your focus on BEING
"I've got so much to do!" How many of us feel that way so much of the time, and especially at the holidays? How focused are you this holiday on everything there is to DO? How much are you connected to BEING? By being I don't mean just sitting around the house meditating or staring into space, I mean what's the inner quality of presence that you be in every moment? What if you focused at least some part of your attention to that inner quality in every moment? How would this change things? How would this change your experience with doing, with family, with all of that with which you engage? How would you like to BE this holiday season?
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