Top Ten Ways To Have A Joyous Holiday Season
One of the things I notice when working with clients at this time of year is that they often seem to lose themselves in the demands of the holiday and New Year season. Our perceptions and expectations of ourselves and others can create chaos and exhaustion. This is signaled by relief when it is finally over. What if instead you could enjoy the season and be fully at choice as to how you experience it? Here is my top ten list for being true to you all year long.
-
Take a few minutes every morning to create your perfect day. Reflect on what you want for yourself and others and how you see the day unfolding. The key to this is to not create expectations from it but to allow the universe to magically co-create the day with you. Once created, let it go.
-
Ask yourself how what is on your to do list supports you, your intentions and vision. For every activity on your list ask this question. The truth is that we take on a lot that is not serving us because it is a habit. Become aware of how you are using the precious resource of your life-force. Notice every time you say “I should” and reconsider why.
-
Feel everything fully. We have been conditioned to push stress and overwhelm away. Intend to notice when you are doing this and instead stand in the awareness of the feeling or sensation and remain present to what you are sensing. Cultivating the new habit of feeling everything fully is not something that happens overnight. Intend to be aware of the circumstances and situations that keep you from feeling or sensing everything fully so that you may make a different choice in the space between stimulus and response.
-
Use your emotions as a compass or navigational tool. We either feel good or we do not. Choose to place yourself and your attention on that which makes you feel good. Feeling good is a choice. When you are making choices about your life, try them on first, feeling fully how this would feel if it were so. Try the process of reaching for a better feeling thought.
-
Become aware of the expectations you have made about how things must be. Expectation causes disappointment and disappointment does not feel good. There is a distinction between having expectations of others and expecting the best for yourself. You cannot control the behavior of others; you can control the decisions about who you will choose to hang out with.
-
Let go of attachment to traditions and rituals that no longer serve you. Often our families have rituals that go back many years and are no longer practical or fun but are continued in the spirit of the family tradition. If something is not working for you it is likely not working for everyone else in some way. Just because you have always done it this way does not mean you must continue.
-
Stop ignoring yourself, your needs and others or things that need attention. Ignoring is the energy of dismissal and it is the most destructive energy to relationship and life. Remember that energy flows where attention goes. Ignoring does not make something unpleasant go away. It takes energy and life-force from other areas of attention just to keep up the pursuit of ignoring. Choose to eliminate the behavior of ignoring from your way of being.
-
Notice what you are tolerating. Thomas Leonard, the father of the modern day coaching movement, taught that tolerations were a major source of energy drain. Eliminate tolerations from your life. You can do this by making a list of everything you are putting up with. Intend to surface an awareness in these areas and keep a notebook with you. Every day for about a week just write these down as you become aware of them. My clients are often surprised there are so many! They begin thinking there will be 5 or 6 and end up with 50, 60 or more. This could be something as simple as the pile of clutter you walk by daily or the sense you want to have your car detailed. Group your tolerations by category…relationship…finance…environment, you get the idea here. Then choose the one action you could take that would eliminate several of the things on your list.
-
Practice gratitude and extend this practice to having gratitude for yourself. When we appreciate and have gratitude towards ourselves, the principles of attraction dictate that we attract things to be grateful for. Every morning write down 5 things that you want to acknowledge yourself for. Do this for 30 days. Check out Go Gratitude!
- Have fun! Let go and include play in your day.
May everyday be a special day filled with love, joy, gratitude, fun and everything that is pleasing to you.