While we often hear the holiday season “is the most wonderful time of the year,” it doesn’t always bring peace and joy to all.
In fact, holidays can be extremely overwhelming and exhausting. And whether or not you’re surrounded by family, this time can even feel quite lonely.
Holiday blues are internal, silent and can affect anyone. That’s why it’s important to be proactive and prepare ourselves – and others.
Friends, for the past month, I’ve been writing down my own thoughts to prepare this short message for you.
Try, and share, these simple steps below to help relieve stress during the upcoming holiday season:
- Reward yourself with something (gift!) or by doing something special. Your success rate for getting through 2020 is 100 percent! Although 2020 is a year many of us would like to forget, it’s a year we’ll likely remember for quite some time. Reward yourself for persevering.
- If you do feel any holiday stress or blues, know you’re not alone. Over 85 percent of respondents in a 2019 survey self-reported they felt moderately stressed or extremely stressed at some point during last December holiday. So just know that the boat is large and we’re all on it together. None of us are alone feeling a bit anxious or stressed.
- Pause to reflect on something you’re grateful for. Do this right now. What have you learned? How has the adversity pushed you to be better? Feel grateful about your health when so many have battled it this year. We often don’t appreciate what we have until it’s gone. An attitude of gratitude is the foundation of happiness.
- Don’t overbook yourself this holiday. Keep things as simple as possible. Resist the temptation to fit too much in or be everywhere at once. In fact, take time for needs you have. Hit the beach, take a long walk in the woods, make a fire at noon, and so on. Take time for YOU.
- Start each day with a few moments of relaxation. Do something you want to do rather what you feel you have to do. You should be doing this every day actually! Whether it’s meditation, reading a few pages in a book, taking a walk with your furbaby, stretching, sipping that morning beverage without the television on, etc., just start your day with a few moments of whatever motivates you to want to get started.
- Identify something this holiday and in early 2021 to really get excited about and look forward to. Keeping your focus on what motivates you will help you press through any tough times by shifting your focus.
- Phone someone you haven’t spoken to in a while or send a check-in text to initiate conversation and say hello. Many of us receive holiday cards from friends and family in the mail, but when’s the last time we picked up the phone and actually had a conversation? Plan a Zoom coffee, lunch or Happy Hour in the new year to reconnect with them. Rekindling a relationship will spark you as well.
Which one of these tips is your favorite? I’d love to hear which one connects to you the most. Every time I write or speak, I absolutely love hearing from people like you – email me directly at Kevin@KevinCSnyder.com.
Friends, 2020 has brought us adversity we never fathomed. But adversity doesn’t define us or 2020. It has already created opportunities we would never have had otherwise.
So let’s start 2021 on a positive step. It’s up to us, not our circumstances. Let’s create the circumstances we want.
What are opportunities in store for you? How can you make the close of 2020 a year to springboard your success in early 2021 and beyond?
Hopes and cheers to you having a fabulous holiday ahead.
Whether or not 2020 is a year to forget, let’s make 2021 a year to remember.
Gratitude and blessings,
~ Kevin and the Snyder family
