Break Free Tip of the Month
From the desk of Terry Taylor, Your Recipe For Living CoachDecember, 2011 |
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Dear Terry Jean,
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DECEMBER'S BREAK FREE TIP shows you how to
be at ease with your thoughts and feelings so you can eliminate unnecessary stress and truly enjoy the holidays.
I'd love to hear how these steps work for YOU - you can email me at Terry@YourRecipeForLivingCoach.com.
Feel free to forward this BREAK FREE TIP to a friend or colleague. Enjoy!
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Being at Ease During the Holidays
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Because of our image of the holidays as "the happiest time of the year," our STRESS can mount to it's highest peak during the winter holidays. There's the holiday cards and letters; there's the selection, wrapping and shipping of "just the right presents;" there's the extra events, parties, cooking, and traveling to fit into an already busy schedule. On top of that, there's a higher degree of intense relating to other people for longer periods of time, sometimes with no let-up and no alone time to "regroup." And the interruption of our normal eating, exercising and sleep schedules - not to mention the interruption in the crucial work that we do for a living. If you're having company, there's the house cleaning and cooking; if you have children, they are underfoot with "nothing to do."
If this isn't a recipe for uneasiness and stress, I don't know what is! Doesn't it make you wonder why we do this to ourselves?
HOW DO YOU TREAT YOURSELF DURING THE HOLIDAYS?
Are you so focused on doing what you've always done, doing what everybody else does, doing what others expect of you, or doing what you expect of you that you turn your life into a frenzied race with time? Do you tell yourself that this is just the way it IS during the holidays?
Do not underestimate the power of tradition and expectations on how you treat yourself and how you approach the holidays. If you're not careful, you can end up feeling irritated, stressed-out, exhausted, and resentful. This can turn your holidays from a happy celebration to an unwanted nightmare.
It doesn't have to be that way. YOU are the one who is choosing what you do, and YOU are the one who can change it.
HERE'S HOW TO GET STARTED
Most of our holiday stress comes from not asking ourselves how we would truly like to celebrate, from not prioritizing our plans, and from not creating a sensible schedule. Here are a few things to consider:
1. Ask Yourself Whom You Want To Spend Time With. Don't keep visiting relatives or friends that don't appreciate you or share your joy in life. Don't assume you have to be with - or visit - anybody. Think about who would magnify your joy. Don't force yourself to be with anyone you feel uncomfortable with or with anyone who shares nothing in common with you. Keep what YOU want in mind - not what someone elsemight want you to want. This can be a real challenge, but it is part of treating yourself with respect and being true to your values - and it is fundamental to enjoying your holiday.
2. Ask Yourself What You Want To DO. Stop taking traditions and expectations for granted - and stop allowing them to rule your life. Select activities that you love to do. I love to have good conversation, to make music, and to go dancing. So I choose go where I can have fun doing these things with other people.
3. Ask Yourself What's Most Important. When it's unrealistic to do everything you want to do, PRIORITIZE the things you want most to do so you don't get frustrated or tire yourself out. My husband and I finally stopped traveling to our large family reunions and found friends with whom we can celebrate locally. This eliminates long trips that take large chunks of time and wear us out.
4. Plan A Sensible Schedule. Figure out how you can fit your holiday activities in with the other things you want to do each day so that you have time to breathe and you avoid making yourself frantic.
5. If Things Get Hectic, Get Help Or Get Out. Pay attention to how you are feeling and how your schedule is working for you. If it's not realistic, stop in your tracks and adjust it so that it IS. Avoid the "just one more thing" syndrome that keeps you at one task longer than planned. If your schedule fills up with lots of "one more things" DO LESS or FIND SOME HELPERS.
This holiday season, you can CHOOSE to treat yourself like the wonderful human being that you are. You can choose whom you want to be with and what you want to do. And you can plan when you are going to do holiday things so that they fit in with the other things you want to do -- and then you can follow your plan.
If you start to feel pressured: STOP, reassess, eliminate, or get help. Keep reminding yourself that YOU are in charge of what YOU DO for the holidays. When you remain true to the things that are important to you, you can minimize your stress and you can magnify your enjoyment of the holidays beyond your expectations!
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Always here to make your days more delicious,
Terry
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Terry Jean Taylor
Your Recipe For Living Coach, LLC
A passionate motivational speaker and life coach with a new reality-based, no-nonsense approach, Terry Taylor is the designer of a unique strategy for reaching your goals and loving your life. Her CD program - 8 Steps For Reclaiming Your Life From Conflict, Confusion And The Control Of Others - is available at her website www.yourrecipeforlivingcoach.com, where you can also learn about her newly published book, This Is Your Life: No Apology Needed.
You are receiving this because you have shown an interest in Terry Taylor's work or signed up for her Break Free Tips.
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