It’s the holiday season here in the USA and the mad rush for closing out the season has already begun. From holidays sales (which we all love) to planning time to enjoy family and friends. Despite all the fun, good cheer and good times the holiday season implies, it can be a highly stressful and depressing time for many people. So, I’d like to share a few things to help you stay positively focused during the holiday season so you can stay in a peaceful place and enjoy each day mindfully, one at a time. Here’s what you do:

Honor Yourself
Take time to rest, take care of your personal needs, and listen to your inner guidance on what needs to be addressed with you first. Listen to your body and prioritize your needs. By taking care of you first, you are fit and up to the job of handing anyone and everything else. Too often, folks are running around like wildlings trying to get here and there, do this and that for everyone else except themselves. Take time to relax and if you have a hectic lifestyle, organize your time better (including getting help), so you’re not always stretched thin and running on fumes. Believe me, what’s waiting on you will still be waiting. So get your energy and mind right so you can handle it the way you need to.

Get out and Have Fun … if you dare
If you can’t be with family or close friends, then don’t sit at home alone over the holidays. If you want something to do, get out there and find something enjoyable and fun. Having a good time, even if it’s doing something simple that you enjoy boots your mood and outlook. Believe it or not, there are lots of people who are alone for the holidays looking for something to do with FUN people. Check your local meetups, community, church, and other activities in your area and find out what’s happening near you. Get out and meet people, make new friends and enjoy the hidden gems located in your neighborhood or city.

Focus on Pleasure and Enjoyment … YOURS
What brings you joy? If you don’t know, then you need to find out now! Life’s too short to take more than 20 seconds to answer that question. What can you do that makes you feel alive, happy, lifts your spirit and makes you smile? Identify those things and see how you can make some (if not all) of them happen this holiday. Having some is always better than none! Don’t expect to find fun with expensive activities. Sometimes simple is best. Actually, I know it is most of the time. I know for me, just having time alone with peace and quiet and doing whatever the hell I want to do without interruption is priceless!
If you want to be indoors, away from the hustle and bustle, traffic and overwhelming energy that crowds tend to generate, then stay indoors. Create an itinerary of your ‘favorite things to do indoors’ and do those instead. Enjoy your pets, do some binge-watching your favorite TV and movies. Just relax and do you. There’s nothing more pleasurable than doing what you enjoy, the way you want when you want. So find your sweet spots and tap into those this holiday. Hell, tap into them regularly. Your mood, mind, and body will thank you for it!

Install and Enforce Healthy Boundaries … Always
If you don’t have healthy boundaries, I suggest you get them, quick! Then, enforce them like the law does when you break it. Healthy boundaries demonstrate your limits of what is comfortable for you and by enforcing them, you teach others what’s acceptable and what’s not. Sometimes, some folks try to be sneaky and crafty by using guilt, one of the oldest tricks on the planet to manipulate you and bypass your boundaries. Don’t let them do it!
Don’t give out passes when your gut instinct says NO! Giving out passes is NOT a good habit of creating and practicing because you enable and permit manipulation and co-create imbalance in your relationship dynamics. Always respect yourself by enforcing your boundaries. Don’t let guilt, tradition and other people’s expectation (especially without considering the impact to you, your wallet, and your mental and emotional wellbeing) take priority over what feels right for you.

Don’t Hold onto Anger and Resentment … EVER!
Trust me on this; it hurts you more than it hurts them. I know some folks have the audacity to plead ignorance over their negative behaviors, won’t accept responsibility for their actions, and refuse to improve and work on themselves because they believe their sh$#@t don’t stink. I know that some experiences are hard to forgive (especially when it’s intentional and deliberate) and causes you great harm and pain. Everyone has to pay the piper in this life. What you put out, you get back. But let me say this, if you hold on to that pain, it steals away your joy, your possibilities, and your future because you continue to make it your focus. Only you have the power to forgive anyone and anything. Only you can render the painful experience powerless. Only you can make the pain irrelevant to your present and future. So I encourage you to not focus on anything this holiday season from a place of torment. Instead, choose your point of focus positively and create a healthier mindset going forward.

Stay in Gratitude … Always
Gratitude is the catalyst for manifesting your heart’s desire. It is the experience you have when you find yourself in appreciation for what you have in your life. Nowadays, it’s so easy to focus on what you don’t have, what someone else has, how it appears life is passing you by because you don’t have this or that. Staying in that mindset of lack creates a vibration of scarcity, and it grows and grows. It can alter you to behave in ways that may be out of character to obtain what you don’t have. This scarcity mindset can create more fear and worry. The list is endless for the negative experiences that come from this mindset, which is why gratitude is the key. Having appreciation keeps you grounded, humble, aligned and open to receive what you want, what you need and all that you deserve and some!

So practice gratitude every day. I know personally, it works. I would not have made as a single mother of five humans, operating a business I believe has value and purpose which at times makes some wonder how I do what I do and if it’s real or challenges their beliefs. But yet, I’ve positively impacted thousands for over 18 years and continue to do so. Yes, I’d say gratitude is real, and it works.

Now after you read this, find something to be grateful for then do something special that honors you and brings a smile to your face and joy in your heart.

Happy Holidays!

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