Christmas Stress or Christmas Joy?

The Christmas holiday season is already upon us. And with it comes the hope that this one will be truly magical.

Although Christmas is a time for love and connection with family and friends, singing carols and connecting deeply spiritually, celebrating this year’s achievements and objectively reviewing how the year panned out, I find it sneaks up on me.

Many of us quickly get bogged down in busyness, stress and old patterns.

This morning I decided to do something different, to honestly identify the negative self-talk and limiting beliefs that I have leading up to Christmas. This is so that I can choose to do something different this year.

These are just a few examples of ‘worries’ that I uncovered:

The hassle of finding and putting up the decorations and decluttering the house to fit them in.
Eating too much at Christmas and New Year’s and putting on extra weight.
Spending money that feels tight and wanting to be more generous than I am.
Deciding on what presents to buy for my loved ones.
Feeling that I am too busy, too tired, that there is too much preparation.

Do you relate to these? Do you have other ones too?

Give yourself a moment to become really clear on what it is that stresses you about this holiday season. There is so much more peace in awareness because then you can choose to do something different.

Here are 10 ways to turn that dynamic around and create the magic.

1. Give yourself a break. Perfection—even perfect happiness—just isn’t possible. Let your best be good enough. Make a budget for both your time and your money—and stick to it. It really is the thought that counts.
2. Make conscious decisions. Get clear about what you really want to do over the holidays before compromising with others. If you don’t have a clear plan and clear intentions, you might find yourself getting swept along by others’ desires. Even if you compromise later, get clear first.
3. Shorten your to-do list. What do the holidays mean to you? For many, it’s about family and friends and spirituality. If an item doesn’t add to your holiday spirit, scratch it off.
4. Say no when you want to. It’s very liberating. Try it and see. It sounds simple, but too often obligation trumps desire. When faced with options, choose the one that would make you happier. If you can’t avoid certain events, limit the time you’re there.
5. Take good care of yourself. The old standards help keep stress at bay: eat healthfully, exercise, drink lots of water, and breathe deeply. Schedule time for relaxation and fun.
6. Start early. To avoid a last-minute frenzy that can bust your budget, start shopping or making presents now.
7. Ask for help. Reject any notion of martyrdom. The burden of preparations should not fall upon one person. The more specific you are in your request, the more successful you’ll be.
8. Establish new traditions. If you have experienced a major life-changing event, such as a death or divorce, consider doing something you’ve never done before over the holidays, such as travel to another country or take a cruise.
9. Do your own Personal Peace Procedure.
Here’s a quick overview of how to do your own Personal Peace Procedure
- Identify your limiting beliefs, things that have happened that you wish had not happened, worries about things that might or might not happen. Write them all down, one idea per line, on your personal peace list.
- Rate them out of ten on the stress scale, 0 being no stress and 10 being maximum stress.
- Each day tap on one item on your list (the highest rating on the stress scale). Rate it again now that you are about to tap on it, and keep tapping and assessing until you can get your stress level down to at least 2.
- Notice any ah ha’s or insights that arise from your tapping and journal those in your peace procedure journal.
- You will find that after tapping for a few days the overall stress level for many of the other identified beliefs or memories will have come down too. Keep choosing an item to tap the stress down and you will enjoy an improved level of peace and acceptance that carries over into other parts of your life.
10. Get support. If a glorious holiday season feels completely out of reach, you may experience the holiday blues. Many people do. Don’t beat yourself up for feeling that way. Reach out for the support you need.