Seasonal Stress Busting: Visioning a meaningful Christmas

Walk down any street here in Oklahoma and you will notice that many trees still have their leaves, lawns are green, and some days it’s even warm enough to leave your jacket at home.  But walk into any local retail store, and Shazaam- its Christmas! 

If the countdown makes you sweat you might need to readjust your approach to the Holiday.

First take a moment to visualize your ideal Christmas. 

• Where are you? 
• What are you doing?
• Who are you with? 
• What is your overall mood?

If you are like most people your fantasy Christmas involves a clean house with a fire burning, the special people in your life gathered laughing with a joyful heart, and you are the picture of contented calm.  At a recent seminar for the Edmond Chamber of Commerce a participant shared that in her fantasy she was in Hawaii with her immediate family and someone was cooking for them.  She won’t really be in Hawaii this Christmas.  In a past workshop a woman laughingly shared that every year she pictured her family singing Christmas Carols around the piano.  She realized that might be a problem since she doesn't own a piano and no one in her family knows how to play (or sing for that matter).

So what fuels these fantasy holidays?  Messages are delivered directly to your mailbox, inbox, and living room every day in the form of advertising.  We are shown image after image of stylish homes with a roaring fireplace and happy families.  We are sold on perfection, and for most people the reality is far from the fantasy.  Let’s stop the subliminal competition to make this year the BEST for our family (including mom) and reset our intentions to make it meaningful. 

Now pause for a moment and consider past Christmases. 
What made your heart sing? What was a special memory? 

• Time with family and friends?  
• The meal or the gift exchange?
• Volunteering? 
• Increased spirituality or religious participation?

THAT is your new focus.

In the upcoming weeks we will develop your realistic holiday vision into an action plan that less about the stress, and more about what you REALLY want for Christmas.