Season’s Greetings!

I know that for many people the holidays are frequently viewed as a time of great joy. During this time of the year we get off from work and school and spend our vacation time in the presence of our friends and family, making this season a time of happiness and togetherness. But let’s face it, often times the holidays can quickly become overwhelming. We get so wrapped up in all the many activities that we have planned that sometimes these activities start to feel more like work than fun. In order to avoid bringing extra and unnecessary stress into your lives during the holidays try making a list of the activities that are the most important to you. Instead of engaging in activities that make you unhappy, get rid of those activities that you find too burdensome. The holidays should be a time of relaxation and fun with your loved ones, so avoid engaging in activities that will take this away from you.

Now even though we would like to cross off all of our unwanted holiday activities from our calendar, there are some obligations that we can’t simply eliminate. Sometimes, much to our chagrin, we may have to go caroling with our in-laws that we don’t get along with or we may have to spend our trickling funds on buying Christmas presents for our loved ones. In these instances it sometimes helps to pick out one positive aspect from your dreaded event. For instance, you may not see eye-to-eye with your in-laws on anything, but instead of focusing on this negative idea try focusing all of your energy on the fact that you get to bring a little bit of holiday joy to the people who hear your holiday songs. You may not have as much money to buy everyone the presents that you wanted to buy for them, but you can use this opportunity to explore your creative and resourceful side. Have some fun coming up with new and fresh ideas on how to make your limited funds stretch a little further, and relish in the chorus of thank yous that you will receive from the loved ones that you give your gifts to. If you start to find and focus on the positive facets of your holiday activities that you have to keep on your calendar, you may even start to enjoy these activities more than you ever thought was possible.

For the positive thinker, positivity can be found in the bleakest of situations. This holiday season, try finding that one thing that makes a seemingly impossible situation look a little bit brighter. This beacon of hope may actually be what gets you through that unwanted activity with a little less stress.