Holidays are supposed to a time of rest, recuperation and filling our cup. For many of us, this can be a time of extreme stress – partly from the stress we place on ourselves, and partly from the stress that comes from meeting the expectations of others. In this space, we feel overwhelmed, and often relieved once the holidays have passed.
This holiday season, why not make it a time of joy instead of stress?
Most of us create a list of tasks we need to accomplish before we feel we deserve our holiday time. It is as though we believe we only have the right to take time off and enjoy it if we accomplish certain tasks. This year shift your perspective. Yes, there are certain tasks that have deadlines and must be completed, but there are others that we assign importance to that do not need to be done. Taking time off is as important as work. It is recharging your battery so that when you begin again, you feel refreshed and ready to take on the world. Can you give yourself permission to let go and enjoy your break?
We have traditions and expectations of what this time of year should be. Look at the things you traditionally do every year – do you do them because you wish to? Do you enjoy them? If yes, then you are on the right path. However, if you are doing them because you believe you should, or others expect it of you, perhaps it is time to take another look at what is right for you. Take a moment to write down all the things you have made a tradition in your life for the holidays. Do these activities fit with who you are now? Do you enjoy doing them? What would you either add to your list or do instead of a certain activity? You get to decide what is right for you and no one else can dictate that. Make these holidays about what makes you happy.
Let go of every tradition and expectation and really look at what this holiday season means to you. After a year filled with high and lows, joys and struggles, and above all, the lessons life presented to us, we have had our eyes opened in ways we could never have predicted. The lesson in all this is that our lives are our own and we each have the right to decide what fits with who we are at our core. These past months have shown us what we cannot live without, what we need, and who matters to us.
Now is the time to live your life in way that feels right to you and makes you happy.
What are you adding or replacing on your holiday list this year? Share in the comments
Many Blessings,
Santa
