The upcoming holiday season is a busy one and almost all of us will be experiencing some sort of overwhelm over the next few weeks. Thoughts of “shoulds”, “what ifs” and “have tos” can run ramped this time of year, causing you to feel pressured and stressed…the very opposite of Holiday cheer!
We think of all the things we need to do for the holidays and put high expectations upon ourselves to make this holiday special. Yet, over committing, over spending and high expectations don’t necessarily nurture inner peace and holiday joy from within.
And if you are stressed and overwhelmed, how much fun is this holiday going to be for your loved ones?
Below are 8 steps to eliminating stress and overwhelm over the holidays.
| 1. | Ask yourself, what’s the most important thing about the holidays for me? Special time with family, hosting a great party, simplifying, spending quality time with a grandparent or grandchild are all good examples. What do you desire most over the upcoming holiday? Write or type this sentence: “The most important thing to me this holiday season is…”. Get curious. |
| 2. | Now ask yourself, throughout the holiday season, how do I want to feel? Peaceful, grateful, happy, relaxed, deep connections and love, could be used here. Write or type this sentence: “This holiday season, I want to feel….”. |
| 3. | Make a list. Do a brain dump and write everything that’s filling your mind down on paper or in a word document. Just let it flow…gifts to buy, parties to attend, errands, chores, financial obligations, emails to responds to, unfinished business – dump everything out of your head and onto the page. |
| 4. | Reevaluate and make notes. Allowing your heart to be your guide, evaluate the priority of each item on your list. Based on the impact each will have on satisfying your desired outcome and emotion from #1 & #2, give each item between 1-5 stars. For example, if spending quality time with family is your most important thing this holiday, organizing a family dinner or Christmas weekend might score 5 stars. Getting your hair done might score 3 stars and organizing and sending the Christmas cards might score 1 star. Hint: Remember, stay in your body for this. How much passion do you feel for each item and how aligned is it with what you value most about the holidays? If it’s a “should”, delete it right away. |
| 5. | Immediately eliminate, delegate or at least postpone all items that scored under 3 stars. Seriously reconsider all items labeled 3 stars. |
| 6. | For the items remaining, block off time in your calendar now to deal with them. Give yourself twice as much time you think you will need. Make these a priority and allocate the time in your calendar to take action. |
| 7. | Make time for you. Don’t forget to block time off in your calendar to fill your pitcher so you can pour into others from a place of fulfillment, joy and delight. Put time in your schedule to exercise and take spacious days and evenings. Overindulging and numbing out with sugar, food and alcohol are going to take you into a downward spiral. Because of this, you might want to include non-alcoholic and/or non-sugar days in your calendar. Schedule them in and remember the impact they will have on your overall happiness when you are tempted to ignore or give in. |
| 8. | Take a moment now and schedule 20-minutes to do this process over the next day or two. Don’t wait! By doing so, you’ll be clearing up space, eliminating stress, and taking focused action aligned with your highest desires, values and what’s most important to you. |
Eliminating “shoulds” while honoring your priorities and values is a beautiful act of selflove.
When you honor, respect and love yourself, you feel honored, respected and loved in return. Isn’t that worth 20 minutes of your life?
What are some ways you avoid overwhelm and stress during the holiday season? Please share your thoughts with me below.
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