BRING THE JOY BACK TO THE HOLIDAYS
The holidays can be a really hard time for people for a variety of different reasons which can cause this time of year to really get the best of you. There are some things that you just can’t change that cause distress, like missing a loved one who is no longer with you. Grief is hard around the holidays, so this may not be the blog you are looking for if this is what you are experiencing, but it may have tools to help you honor your situation and start building a new story for yourself and your loved one. But the thing I would like to focus on here is putting your energy this season on what you can change or have control of.
The stories that we tell ourselves about situations can have a major impact on our mental health and the way that we handle what is put in front of us. Most of these stories that we tell ourselves include : people, places, things or time. ( I have pretty much just summarized the stresses of life!)
PEOPLE: One of the biggest pressures and stresses of the holiday is spending time with family that you may not like or want to be around. So ask yourself, if the people you are surrounding yourself during this season are not bringing you joy, WHY ARE YOU AROUND THEM!? Change your scene, make a new tradition, don’t go to Aunt Cheryl’s Christmas dinner if it makes you miserable. Stop acting like you don’t have a choice in what you do with your time or who you do it with!
PLACES: If traveling makes you miserable during the holidays. Don’t do it. Maybe this is something you compromise on, something you do every other year instead of every year to see family. Maybe you meet in the middle instead of traveling long distances.
THINGS: If you are feeling so overwhelmed with the cost of the holidays or realize that the things that people get for the holidays have no meaning to you or them? You know what I am talking about, the long list of toys that Johnny wants for Christmas but you know deep down inside he is just going to make a fort out of the boxes it all came in? Then don’t do it! Change the story, do something different. If you don’t want to buy things, do things. Give the people around you an experience that they can do with you or someone they love. Let them create memories they can hold on to forever.
TIME: The holidays take us out of our routine. The kids have extra breaks out of school, work schedules shift and change, it is hard to be taken out of that everyday routine. On top of that, there is the time it takes to shop for presents, grocery shop for family coming in to town, going to see Santa, and participating in other holiday festivities. It is a lot of chaos the shove in to 24 days before Christmas. Find the short cuts. If don’t like shopping, order online, you can even do this with your groceries and the cost in your time and sanity may be worth it if you have to spend a few extra dollars.
The intention here is to challenge you choosing to be miserable with the holidays, there has to be something you can change to bring some joy back for yourself. You deserve to be happy around this time of year and at every point in the year, but you may have to stop being so committed to things that take away your joy.